Single-storey, double-storey, rear and side extension drawings for South Gloucestershire homes — measured to South Gloucestershire Council's design guidance, delivered in days and revised free until your decision, with a free approval-odds check before you commit.
South Gloucestershire Council granted 83% of the householder planning decisions it made in its latest published year — 4 points below the 87% England-wide householder average. South Gloucestershire contains Almondsbury Conservation Area, Church Lane, Winterbourne Conservation Area, Cold Ashton Conservation Area conservation areas (Almondsbury Conservation Area designated 1975), 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. South Gloucestershire carries at least one Article 4 direction, and conservation areas including Almondsbury Conservation Area, Church Lane, Winterbourne Conservation Area and Cold Ashton Conservation Area remove those rights outright, so we confirm your exact address before a line is drawn. A validated householder application in South Gloucestershire is determined against an 8-week statutory target.
Almondsbury (conservation area designated in 1975), Church Lane, Winterbourne (conservation area designated in 2005), Cold Ashton (conservation area designated in 1983), Doynton (conservation area designated in 1983), Dyrham (conservation area designated in 1975), Frenchay (conservation area designated in 1975), Hambrook (conservation area designated in 1975), Hanham Abbots (conservation area designated in 1989), Boyd Valley (ward of South Gloucestershire), Frampton Cotterell (ward of South Gloucestershire), Frenchay & Downend (ward of South Gloucestershire), Longwell Green (ward of South Gloucestershire), Parkwall & Warmley (ward of South Gloucestershire), Severn Vale (ward of South Gloucestershire) and Winterbourne (ward of South Gloucestershire) — these are the South Gloucestershire pockets our drawings cover most. Heritage designations here include Almondsbury Conservation Area, Church Lane, Winterbourne Conservation Area, Cold Ashton Conservation Area, Doynton Conservation Area, Dyrham Conservation Area, Frenchay Conservation Area, Hambrook Conservation Area and Hanham Abbots Conservation Area. South Gloucestershire Council weighs each proposal against South Gloucestershire Council's development plan and the design policies it applies to householder applications, where the 30,700 homes here are 19% 1955-1964, 11% 1965-1972, 10% pre-1900, which is what sets the realistic roof and rear-projection options. On roofs the borough is shallow gabled roofs typical of that period's building and shallow-pitched roofs and integral garages typical of that period's building, over late-1950s and early-1960s houses (19% of 30,700 homes), late-1960s and early-1970s houses (11%) and Victorian and earlier houses (10%).
South Gloucestershire's designated heritage is specific, and it is the first thing we check against your address: Almondsbury (conservation area designated in 1975), Church Lane, Winterbourne (conservation area designated in 2005), Cold Ashton (conservation area designated in 1983), Doynton (conservation area designated in 1983), Dyrham (conservation area designated in 1975), Frenchay (conservation area designated in 1975), Hambrook (conservation area designated in 1975) and Hanham Abbots (conservation area designated in 1989). Inside those boundaries permitted development is curtailed and South Gloucestershire 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, South Gloucestershire takes in Boyd Valley, Frampton Cotterell, Frenchay & Downend, Longwell Green, Parkwall & Warmley, Severn Vale and Winterbourne. South Gloucestershire Council has 2 recorded Article 4 directions — check the address before assuming PD applies in the district.
On stock, South Gloucestershire is late-1950s and early-1960s houses (19% of 30,700 homes), late-1960s and early-1970s houses (11%) and Victorian and earlier houses (10%) — which is why shallow gabled roofs typical of that period's building and shallow-pitched roofs and integral garages typical of that period's building govern what a loft or rear projection can realistically be. South Gloucestershire Council decided 771 householder applications in the latest published year and granted 83%, with 61% issued inside the eight-week target. Those are the numbers our drawings are prepared against.
The full build-period split for South Gloucestershire 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.
South Gloucestershire Council also decides for Boyd Valley, Frampton Cotterell, Frenchay & Downend, Longwell Green, Parkwall & Warmley, Severn Vale and Winterbourne, so a decision in South Gloucestershire 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 Land at Gloucester Road North in the Filton ward and Land at Stoke Park and Cheswick ward East of Southmead Road. 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 South Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire Council. These are the numbers that decide what is realistic on your street, so we work from them rather than from national averages.
| Measure | South Gloucestershire |
|---|---|
| Dwellings recorded | 30,700 |
| 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 | 9% |
| Built 1945–2008 | 66% |
| Conservation areas in South Gloucestershire | 8 (Almondsbury Conservation Area, Church Lane, Winterbourne Conservation Area…) |
| Conservation areas district-wide | 30 |
| Article 4 directions recorded | 2 |
| Householder applications decided | 771 |
| Householder applications granted | 83% |
| Decided within 8 weeks | 61% |
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 South Gloucestershire Council's own, from MHCLG live table PS2 for the year to 31 March 2026.
South Gloucestershire homes come in a handful of recurring shapes, and each one points to a different extension. The borough is built largely from late-1950s and early-1960s houses (19% of 30,700 homes), late-1960s and early-1970s houses (11%) and Victorian and earlier houses (10%), 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. South Gloucestershire Council judges every one of them against South Gloucestershire 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. South Gloucestershire contains Almondsbury Conservation Area, Church Lane, Winterbourne Conservation Area, Cold Ashton Conservation Area conservation areas (Almondsbury Conservation Area designated 1975), 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.
South Gloucestershire also protects whole streets — Almondsbury Conservation Area, Church Lane, Winterbourne Conservation Area, Cold Ashton Conservation Area, Doynton Conservation Area, Dyrham Conservation Area, Frenchay Conservation Area, Hambrook Conservation Area and Hanham Abbots Conservation Area among them. South Gloucestershire Council has 2 recorded Article 4 directions — check the address before assuming PD applies in the district. 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 South Gloucestershire 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 South Gloucestershire Council if any of these apply:
We draw the footprint, the ridge and eaves heights and the neighbours' daylight on the page — the relationships South Gloucestershire 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 South Gloucestershire Council's real householder decision record, drawn from official planning statistics and refreshed as new data lands. South Gloucestershire Council granted 83% of 771 householder decisions in the year to 31 March 2026, 61% 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 Almondsbury, Church Lane, Winterbourne and Cold Ashton, 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-1950s and early-1960s houses (19% of 30,700 homes), a side-return infill frequently pairs with it to square off the plan; on wider victorian and earlier houses (10%), a two-storey side or rear extension can add a bedroom above without swallowing the garden.
The 30,700 homes here are 19% 1955-1964, 11% 1965-1972, 10% 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 South Gloucestershire 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 South Gloucestershire projects come up most often:
Extension drawings for Almondsbury's conservation area designated in 1975 — footprint-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to South Gloucestershire Council's guidance.
Extension drawings for Church Lane, Winterbourne's conservation area designated in 2005 — footprint-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to South Gloucestershire Council's guidance.
Extension drawings for Cold Ashton's conservation area designated in 1983 — footprint-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to South Gloucestershire Council's guidance.
Extension drawings for Doynton's conservation area designated in 1983 — footprint-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to South Gloucestershire Council's guidance.
Extension drawings for Dyrham's conservation area designated in 1975 — footprint-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to South Gloucestershire Council's guidance.
Extension drawings for Frenchay's conservation area designated in 1975 — footprint-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to South Gloucestershire Council's guidance.
The right extension in South Gloucestershire 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 South Gloucestershire 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 Almondsbury Conservation Area and Church Lane, Winterbourne Conservation Area and Article 4 directions can remove permitted-development rights.
A fixed process built around how South Gloucestershire Council validates and decides householder extension applications — most drawings are submission-ready within seven days of survey.
Tell us your South Gloucestershire 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 South Gloucestershire 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 South Gloucestershire 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 South Gloucestershire 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 South Gloucestershire you will need to apply to South Gloucestershire 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 Almondsbury Conservation Area and Church Lane, Winterbourne 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 South Gloucestershire Council and a neighbour-consultation period, and it does not apply on designated land such as South Gloucestershire'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 South Gloucestershire 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 South Gloucestershire 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. South Gloucestershire 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 South Gloucestershire Council's building control or an approved inspector can sign the work off.
Every house and brief is different, so we price each South Gloucestershire extension individually and send a fixed, no-obligation quote back within one working day. It covers the full drawing pack with free revisions until South Gloucestershire 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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