Single-storey, double-storey, rear and side extension drawings for Gillingham homes — measured to Dorset Council's design guidance, delivered in days and revised free until your decision, with a free approval-odds check before you commit.
Dorset Council granted 95% of the householder planning decisions it made in its latest published year — 8 points above the 87% England-wide householder average. Gillingham contains Colesbrook Conservation Area, Gillingham Conservation Area, Kington Magna Conservation Area 1 conservation areas (Colesbrook Conservation Area designated 2017), so materials, fenestration and roof form are assessed against the appraisal, which is where a policy-literate drawing pack earns its keep. Its dominant Victorian (1837–1901) housing stock sets the design brief on most streets.
Under Class B, a rear dormer stays permitted development up to 40m³ of added roof volume on a terrace or 50m³ on a semi-detached or detached house, while Class A allows a single-storey rear extension of 3m beyond the original rear wall on a terrace and 4m on a detached house before a full application is needed. Gillingham carries at least one Article 4 direction, and conservation areas including Colesbrook Conservation Area, Gillingham Conservation Area and Kington Magna Conservation Area 1 remove those rights outright, so we confirm your exact address before a line is drawn. A validated householder application in Gillingham is determined against an 8-week statutory target.
Colesbrook (conservation area designated in 2017), Gillingham (conservation area designated in 1985), Kington Magna Conservation Area 1 (conservation area designated in 1995), Kington Magna Conservation Area 2 (conservation area designated in 1995), Milton on Stour (conservation area designated in 1995), Motcombe (conservation area designated in 1995), West Stour Conservation Area 1 (conservation area designated in 1995), West Stour Conservation Area 2 (conservation area designated in 1995), Wyke Conservation Area (Gillingham) (conservation area designated in 2012), Bourton (civil parish within Gillingham), Buckhorn Weston (civil parish within Gillingham), Motcombe (civil parish within Gillingham), Silton (civil parish within Gillingham), Kington Magna (civil parish within Gillingham) and West Stour (civil parish within Gillingham) — these are the Gillingham pockets our drawings cover most. Heritage designations here include Colesbrook Conservation Area, Gillingham Conservation Area, Kington Magna Conservation Area 1, Kington Magna Conservation Area 2, Milton on Stour Conservation Area, Motcombe Conservation Area, West Stour Conservation Area 1, West Stour Conservation Area 2 and Wyke Conservation Area (Gillingham). Dorset Council weighs each proposal against Dorset Council's adopted local plan and its householder design guidance, where the 7,160 homes here are 18% 2000-2008, 16% pre-1900, 15% 1993-1999, which is what sets the realistic roof and rear-projection options. On roofs the borough is trussed-rafter roofs typical of 2000s building and steeply pitched slate roofs, valley gutters and party parapets typical of pre-1900 building, over 2000s houses and apartments (18% of 7,160 homes), Victorian and earlier houses (16%) and 1990s estate houses (15%).
Gillingham's designated heritage is specific, and it is the first thing we check against your address: Colesbrook (conservation area designated in 2017), Gillingham (conservation area designated in 1985), Kington Magna Conservation Area 1 (conservation area designated in 1995), Kington Magna Conservation Area 2 (conservation area designated in 1995), Milton on Stour (conservation area designated in 1995), Motcombe (conservation area designated in 1995), West Stour Conservation Area 1 (conservation area designated in 1995), West Stour Conservation Area 2 (conservation area designated in 1995) and Wyke Conservation Area (Gillingham) (conservation area designated in 2012). Inside those boundaries permitted development is curtailed and Dorset Council assesses materials, window detail and roof form against the area's own appraisal, so a scheme that would be waved through two streets away can need a full application here.
Beyond the designated areas, Gillingham takes in Bourton, Buckhorn Weston, Motcombe, Silton, Kington Magna and West Stour. Dorset Council has 77 recorded Article 4 directions — check the address before assuming PD applies in Gillingham.
On stock, Gillingham is 2000s houses and apartments (18% of 7,160 homes), Victorian and earlier houses (16%) and 1990s estate houses (15%) — which is why trussed-rafter roofs typical of 2000s building and steeply pitched slate roofs, valley gutters and party parapets typical of pre-1900 building govern what a loft or rear projection can realistically be. Dorset Council decided 1,261 householder applications in the latest published year and granted 95%, with 78% issued inside the eight-week target. Those are the numbers our drawings are prepared against.
The full build-period split for Gillingham runs pre-1900 16% (1,110 homes), 1900-1918 2% (130 homes), 1919-1929 3% (190 homes), 1930-1939 1% (90 homes), 1945-1954 4% (290 homes), 1955-1964 3% (200 homes), 1965-1972 6% (460 homes), 1973-1982 12% (840 homes), 1983-1992 13% (960 homes), 1993-1999 15% (1,040 homes) and 2000-2008 18% (1,280 homes). That distribution is why pre-1900 detailing dominates the drawings here, and it is measured from council-tax records rather than assumed from the street name.
Dorset Council also decides for Beacon, Beaminster, Blackmore Vale, Blandford, Chalk Valleys, Charminster St Mary's, Chickerell and Cranborne & Alderholt, so a decision in Gillingham sits inside a wider pattern of decisions we track across the same authority — useful when an officer cites a precedent from the next area over.
The Article 4 directions recorded for this council include 1-3 The Lane, Kingston, Corfe Castle, 10 Cornwall Road, Swanage, 6 Burlington Road, Swanage and Avon Castle & Matchams Park Estate. Each removes a specific permitted-development right inside its own boundary, which is why the check is done on the address rather than on the town.
Published figures for Gillingham and Dorset Council. These are the numbers that decide what is realistic on your street, so we work from them rather than from national averages.
| Measure | Gillingham |
|---|---|
| Dwellings recorded | 7,160 |
| Built pre-1900 | 1,110 (16%) |
| Built 1900-1918 | 130 (2%) |
| Built 1919-1929 | 190 (3%) |
| Built 1930-1939 | 90 (1%) |
| Built 1945-1954 | 290 (4%) |
| Built 1955-1964 | 200 (3%) |
| Built 1965-1972 | 460 (6%) |
| Built 1973-1982 | 840 (12%) |
| Built 1983-1992 | 960 (13%) |
| Built 1993-1999 | 1,040 (15%) |
| Built 2000-2008 | 1,280 (18%) |
| Built before 1919 | 17% |
| Built 1919–1939 | 4% |
| Built 1945–2008 | 71% |
| Conservation areas in Gillingham | 9 (Colesbrook Conservation Area, Gillingham Conservation Area…) |
| Conservation areas district-wide | 311 |
| Article 4 directions recorded | 77 |
| Householder applications decided | 1,261 |
| Householder applications granted | 95% |
| Decided within 8 weeks | 78% |
Dwelling stock from VOA council-tax data at 31 March 2025; conservation-area and Article 4 counts from planning.data.gov.uk (MHCLG); decision figures are Dorset Council's own, from MHCLG live table PS2 for the year to 31 March 2026.
Gillingham homes come in a handful of recurring shapes, and each one points to a different extension. The borough is built largely from 2000s houses and apartments (18% of 7,160 homes), Victorian and earlier houses (16%) and 1990s estate houses (15%), so a Victorian terrace usually wants a rear or side-return infill, while an interwar semi has room for a wider single-storey wrap or a two-storey side addition. Dorset Council judges every one of them against Dorset Council's adopted local plan and its householder design guidance, weighing footprint, height and the impact on the house next door before it looks at the elevations.
That is why the drawings decide the outcome. We set the extension depth against the permitted-development limits precisely, keep the eaves and ridge within the allowances, and plot the 45-degree daylight lines to the neighbours' windows so the case officer can see the amenity test is passed. Gillingham contains Colesbrook Conservation Area, Gillingham Conservation Area, Kington Magna Conservation Area 1 conservation areas (Colesbrook Conservation Area designated 2017), so materials, fenestration and roof form are assessed against the appraisal, so we design around it from the first sketch rather than discover it at validation.
Gillingham also protects whole streets — Colesbrook Conservation Area, Gillingham Conservation Area, Kington Magna Conservation Area 1, Kington Magna Conservation Area 2, Milton on Stour Conservation Area, Motcombe Conservation Area, West Stour Conservation Area 1, West Stour Conservation Area 2 and Wyke Conservation Area (Gillingham) among them. Dorset Council has 77 recorded Article 4 directions — check the address before assuming PD applies in Gillingham. On designated land the larger-home extension route and most side extensions stop being permitted development, so we confirm your address against those layers before drawing a line.
Plenty of Gillingham extensions are permitted development and need no planning application — a single-storey rear extension within the depth and height limits is the common case. You will normally need to apply to Dorset Council if any of these apply:
We draw the footprint, the ridge and eaves heights and the neighbours' daylight on the page — the relationships Dorset Council's officers weigh first — and submit a validation-complete pack, whether that is a lawful development certificate, a prior-approval notification or a full householder application.
Below is Dorset Council's real householder decision record, drawn from official planning statistics and refreshed as new data lands. Dorset Council granted 95% of its householder applications in the year to 31 March 2026, and Colesbrook Conservation Area shapes what is approved here. A complete, policy-literate extension pack anticipates those pressure points before submission, which is why professionally drawn applications are decided faster and refused less often than DIY ones.
Source: MHCLG planning application statistics (householder decisions, England, 1 April 2025 - 31 March 2026). Compare every borough on our London approval-rate league table.
Tell us about your project and get a fixed, no-obligation quote back within one working day. If you don't need planning permission at all, we'll tell you that too — for free.
Across Colesbrook, Gillingham and Kington Magna Conservation Area 1, the extension that lands most often is the single-storey rear addition — a glazed kitchen-diner across the back of the house, kept within the permitted-development depth or taken to a full application where the ground floor wants more. On the borough's 2000s houses and apartments (18% of 7,160 homes), a side-return infill frequently pairs with it to square off the plan; on wider 1990s estate houses (15%), a two-storey side or rear extension can add a bedroom above without swallowing the garden.
The 7,160 homes here are 18% 2000-2008, 16% pre-1900, 15% 1993-1999, which is what sets the realistic roof and rear-projection options. We size the extension to the amenity and daylight tests, match the roof and materials to the host house, and keep enough garden to satisfy Dorset Council's space standards — so the scheme answers the borough's questions before an objection can raise them. Where permitted-development rights are used up or removed, we prepare the householder application to the council's extension design guidance instead.
We draw extensions on every street in the borough. A few of the neighbourhoods where Gillingham projects come up most often:
Extension drawings for Colesbrook's conservation area designated in 2017 — footprint-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to Dorset Council's guidance.
Extension drawings for Gillingham's conservation area designated in 1985 — footprint-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to Dorset Council's guidance.
Extension drawings for Kington Magna Conservation Area 1's conservation area designated in 1995 — footprint-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to Dorset Council's guidance.
Extension drawings for Kington Magna Conservation Area 2's conservation area designated in 1995 — footprint-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to Dorset Council's guidance.
Extension drawings for Milton on Stour's conservation area designated in 1995 — footprint-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to Dorset Council's guidance.
Extension drawings for Motcombe's conservation area designated in 1995 — footprint-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to Dorset Council's guidance.
The right extension in Gillingham depends on your house type and how much garden you can give up. This is how the main options compare on planning route and what they add.
| Extension type | Permitted development? | What it adds | What Dorset Council checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-storey rear | Often, within 3m/4m depth (6m/8m via prior approval) | Bigger kitchen-diner across the back | Depth, height, neighbour daylight (45°) |
| Side-return infill | Sometimes, if within width and height limits | Squares off an L-shaped ground floor | Width vs the original house, glazing to boundary |
| Two-storey rear/side | No — full application | Extra bedroom or bathroom above | Bulk, overlooking, 7m rear-boundary gap |
| Wraparound (rear + side) | No — full application | Whole-width open-plan ground floor | Combined footprint and garden retained |
Route depends on your street — conservation areas such as Colesbrook Conservation Area and Gillingham Conservation Area and Article 4 directions can remove permitted-development rights.
A fixed process built around how Dorset Council validates and decides householder extension applications — most drawings are submission-ready within seven days of survey.
Tell us your Gillingham postcode and house type. We confirm your conservation and Article 4 status, how much permitted-development depth you have left, and score your odds against live Dorset Council decisions.
We measure the existing footprint, floor and eaves levels, boundary distances and the neighbours' window positions — the numbers the depth limits and daylight tests depend on.
Chartered designers develop the single-storey, two-storey or side extension to your brief, drawn inside the permitted-development limits or to Dorset Council's extension design guidance.
We submit the certificate, prior-approval notice or application, manage validation and case-officer queries, and revise the drawings free until Dorset Council issues its decision.
Not always. A single-storey rear extension up to 3 metres deep on a terrace or semi, or 4 metres on a detached house, and no higher than 4 metres, is usually permitted development. In Gillingham you will need to apply to Dorset Council for two-storey extensions, side extensions wider than half the house, anything forward of the front wall, deeper rear extensions under the larger-home prior-approval route, and any extension in a conservation area such as Colesbrook Conservation Area and Gillingham Conservation Area.
Standard permitted development allows 3 metres on a terraced or semi-detached house and 4 metres on a detached one. The larger-home extension scheme can double that to 6 or 8 metres, but it needs a prior-approval notification to Dorset Council and a neighbour-consultation period, and it does not apply on designated land such as Gillingham's conservation areas. We confirm which route your property qualifies for before drawing.
Two-storey and double-storey extensions almost always need a full householder application to Dorset Council, because they fall outside permitted development on most homes. The council looks closely at bulk, overlooking of neighbours and the 7-metre gap a two-storey rear extension must keep from the rear boundary. We design to those tests and show the daylight and privacy angles on the drawings. This applies to your Gillingham address specifically.
A householder planning application in Gillingham runs to a statutory eight-week target, a larger-home prior-approval notification to around six weeks including the neighbour-consultation period, and a lawful development certificate to eight weeks. Incomplete submissions stall at validation, so we submit a complete pack and manage officer queries to keep the decision on schedule. Dorset Council is the decision-maker.
Yes — planning permission and building regulations are separate consents, and almost every extension needs both. Planning governs whether you can build it; building control governs how it is built, covering structure, insulation, drainage and fire safety. We prepare the building-regulations drawings alongside the planning set so Dorset Council's building control or an approved inspector can sign the work off. This applies to your Gillingham address specifically.
Every house and brief is different, so we price each Gillingham extension individually and send a fixed, no-obligation quote back within one working day. It covers the full drawing pack with free revisions until Dorset Council approves, and we tell you upfront whether your extension qualifies as permitted development. Call 020 7864 7245 to get started.
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Same fixed quotes, same fast drawings — wherever your project is.