Single-storey, double-storey, rear and side extension drawings for Lichfield homes — measured to Lichfield District Council's design guidance, delivered in days and revised free until your decision, with a free approval-odds check before you commit.
Lichfield District Council granted 85% of the householder planning decisions it made in its latest published year — 2 points below the 87% England-wide householder average. Lichfield contains Alrewas, Clifton Campville, Colton conservation areas (Alrewas designated 2008), 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) and postwar (1945–1970) 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. In conservation areas such as Alrewas, Clifton Campville and Colton those rights are removed, so we confirm your exact address before a line is drawn. A validated householder application in Lichfield is determined against an 8-week statutory target.
Alrewas (conservation area designated in 2008), Clifton Campville (conservation area designated in 1994), Colton (conservation area designated in 1970), Fradley Junction (conservation area designated in 1977), Hamstall Ridware (conservation area designated in 1971), Harlaston (conservation area designated in 1972), Haunton (conservation area designated in 1977), Lichfield City (conservation area designated in 1970), Alrewas & Fradley (ward of Lichfield), Colton & the Ridwares (ward of Lichfield), Hammerwich with Wall (ward of Lichfield), Longdon (ward of Lichfield), Mease Valley (ward of Lichfield) and Stowe (ward of Lichfield) — these are the Lichfield pockets our drawings cover most. Heritage designations here include Alrewas, Clifton Campville, Colton, Fradley Junction, Hamstall Ridware, Harlaston, Haunton and Lichfield City. Lichfield District Council weighs each proposal against Lichfield District Council's development plan and the design policies it applies to householder applications, where the 10,320 homes here are 20% 1965-1972, 12% 1955-1964, 9% pre-1900, which is what sets the realistic roof and rear-projection options. On roofs the borough is shallow-pitched roofs and integral garages typical of that period's building and shallow gabled roofs typical of that period's building, over late-1960s and early-1970s houses (20% of 10,320 homes), late-1950s and early-1960s houses (12%) and Victorian and earlier houses (9%).
Lichfield's designated heritage is specific, and it is the first thing we check against your address: Alrewas (conservation area designated in 2008), Clifton Campville (conservation area designated in 1994), Colton (conservation area designated in 1970), Fradley Junction (conservation area designated in 1977), Hamstall Ridware (conservation area designated in 1971), Harlaston (conservation area designated in 1972), Haunton (conservation area designated in 1977) and Lichfield City (conservation area designated in 1970). Inside those boundaries permitted development is curtailed and Lichfield District 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, Lichfield takes in Alrewas & Fradley, Colton & the Ridwares, Hammerwich with Wall, Longdon, Mease Valley and Stowe. No Article 4 direction is recorded for Lichfield District Council, but the district's 8 conservation areas still limit permitted development on those streets.
On stock, Lichfield is late-1960s and early-1970s houses (20% of 10,320 homes), late-1950s and early-1960s houses (12%) and Victorian and earlier houses (9%) — which is why shallow-pitched roofs and integral garages typical of that period's building and shallow gabled roofs typical of that period's building govern what a loft or rear projection can realistically be. Lichfield District Council decided 370 householder applications in the latest published year and granted 85%, with 97% issued inside the eight-week target. Those are the numbers our drawings are prepared against.
The full build-period split for Lichfield runs pre-1900 3% (190 homes), 1900-1918 0% (30 homes), 1919-1929 0% (10 homes), 1930-1939 6% (350 homes), 1945-1954 3% (170 homes), 1955-1964 30% (1,850 homes), 1965-1972 33% (1,990 homes), 1973-1982 4% (260 homes), 1983-1992 5% (310 homes), 1993-1999 4% (220 homes) and 2000-2008 3% (170 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.
Lichfield District Council also decides for Alrewas & Fradley, Colton & the Ridwares, Hammerwich with Wall, Longdon, Mease Valley and Stowe, so a decision in Lichfield 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.
Published figures for Lichfield and Lichfield District Council. These are the numbers that decide what is realistic on your street, so we work from them rather than from national averages.
| Measure | Lichfield |
|---|---|
| Dwellings recorded | 10,320 |
| Built pre-1900 | 190 (3%) |
| Built 1900-1918 | 30 (0%) |
| Built 1919-1929 | 10 (0%) |
| Built 1930-1939 | 350 (6%) |
| Built 1945-1954 | 170 (3%) |
| Built 1955-1964 | 1,850 (30%) |
| Built 1965-1972 | 1,990 (33%) |
| Built 1973-1982 | 260 (4%) |
| Built 1983-1992 | 310 (5%) |
| Built 1993-1999 | 220 (4%) |
| Built 2000-2008 | 170 (3%) |
| Built before 1919 | 13% |
| Built 1919–1939 | 4% |
| Built 1945–2008 | 64% |
| Conservation areas in Lichfield | 8 (Alrewas, Clifton Campville…) |
| Conservation areas district-wide | 21 |
| Article 4 directions recorded | 0 |
| Householder applications decided | 370 |
| Householder applications granted | 85% |
| Decided within 8 weeks | 97% |
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 Lichfield District Council's own, from MHCLG live table PS2 for the year to 31 March 2026.
Lichfield homes come in a handful of recurring shapes, and each one points to a different extension. The borough is built largely from late-1960s and early-1970s houses (20% of 10,320 homes), late-1950s and early-1960s houses (12%) and Victorian and earlier houses (9%), 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. Lichfield District Council judges every one of them against Lichfield District Council's development plan and the design policies it applies to householder applications, 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. Lichfield contains Alrewas, Clifton Campville, Colton conservation areas (Alrewas designated 2008), 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.
Lichfield also protects whole streets — Alrewas, Clifton Campville, Colton, Fradley Junction, Hamstall Ridware, Harlaston, Haunton and Lichfield City among them. No Article 4 direction is recorded for Lichfield District Council, but the district's 8 conservation areas still limit permitted development on those streets. 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 Lichfield 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 Lichfield District Council if any of these apply:
We draw the footprint, the ridge and eaves heights and the neighbours' daylight on the page — the relationships Lichfield District 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 Lichfield District Council's real householder decision record, drawn from official planning statistics and refreshed as new data lands. Lichfield District Council granted 85% of 370 householder decisions in the year to 31 March 2026, 97% of them inside eight weeks. 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 Alrewas, Clifton Campville and Colton, 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 late-1960s and early-1970s houses (20% of 10,320 homes), a side-return infill frequently pairs with it to square off the plan; on wider victorian and earlier houses (9%), a two-storey side or rear extension can add a bedroom above without swallowing the garden.
The 10,320 homes here are 20% 1965-1972, 12% 1955-1964, 9% pre-1900, 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 Lichfield District 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 Lichfield projects come up most often:
Extension drawings for Alrewas's conservation area designated in 2008 — footprint-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to Lichfield District Council's guidance.
Extension drawings for Clifton Campville's conservation area designated in 1994 — footprint-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to Lichfield District Council's guidance.
Extension drawings for Colton's conservation area designated in 1970 — footprint-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to Lichfield District Council's guidance.
Extension drawings for Fradley Junction's conservation area designated in 1977 — footprint-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to Lichfield District Council's guidance.
Extension drawings for Hamstall Ridware's conservation area designated in 1971 — footprint-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to Lichfield District Council's guidance.
Extension drawings for Harlaston's conservation area designated in 1972 — footprint-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to Lichfield District Council's guidance.
The right extension in Lichfield 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 Lichfield District 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 Alrewas and Clifton Campville and Article 4 directions can remove permitted-development rights.
A fixed process built around how Lichfield District Council validates and decides householder extension applications — most drawings are submission-ready within seven days of survey.
Tell us your Lichfield 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 Lichfield District 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 Lichfield District 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 Lichfield District 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 Lichfield you will need to apply to Lichfield District 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 Alrewas and Clifton Campville.
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 Lichfield District Council and a neighbour-consultation period, and it does not apply on designated land such as Lichfield'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 Lichfield District 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.
A householder planning application in Lichfield 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. Lichfield District 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 Lichfield District Council's building control or an approved inspector can sign the work off.
Every house and brief is different, so we price each Lichfield extension individually and send a fixed, no-obligation quote back within one working day. It covers the full drawing pack with free revisions until Lichfield District 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.