Drawings that turn a Lewisham house into self-contained flats — units sized to space standards, separated for sound and fire, and drawn to Lewisham Council's conversion policy so the change of use is approved, delivered in days and revised free until your decision, with a free feasibility check first.
Lewisham Council granted 90% of the householder planning decisions it made in its latest published year — 3 points above the 87% England-wide householder average. Policies resist the loss of family-sized houses, so conversions to flats face an added hurdle, which is where a policy-literate drawing pack earns its keep. Its dominant Georgian (1714–1837), Victorian (1837–1901) and Edwardian (1901–1910) 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. Lewisham carries at least one Article 4 direction, and conservation areas including Blackheath, Telegraph Hill and Brockley remove those rights outright, so we confirm your exact address before a line is drawn. A validated householder application in Lewisham is determined against an 8-week statutory target.
Blackheath (grand villas and terraces on the Lewisham side of the heath), Brockley (long Victorian terraces within one of London's largest conservation areas), Telegraph Hill (hilly Victorian terraces framing the two parks), Deptford (Georgian survivals like Albury Street amid dense terraced streets), Forest Hill (Victorian villas and terraces stepping up the slopes) and Sydenham (Victorian terraces and semis toward the Crystal Palace ridge) — these are the Lewisham pockets our drawings cover most. Heritage designations here include Blackheath, Telegraph Hill, Brockley, Deptford High Street and Sydenham. Lewisham Council weighs each proposal against the Lewisham Local Plan and the borough's Alterations and Extensions SPD, where in the Brockley and Telegraph Hill conservation areas original slate roofs and front elevations are closely guarded. Brockley, Forest Hill and Deptford hold large numbers of houses long ago converted into flats and maisonettes, which carry no householder permitted-development rights.. On roofs the borough is London butterfly roofs on the Victorian terraces and gabled roofs on the villas, over Victorian terraces, Victorian and Edwardian villas and converted flats and maisonettes.
Splitting one dwelling into several is the most policy-heavy job a house takes on, and Lewisham has the stock that invites it — the borough's Victorian terraces, Victorian and Edwardian villas and converted flats and maisonettes include the large period houses and mansion-block flats that convert well, and streets already part-converted set the pattern. But because you are creating new homes, Lewisham Council assesses the scheme against its housing and conversion policies, not just its extension guidance, so the internal layout carries planning weight it never would in a single house.
The layout has to satisfy several standards together. Each flat must meet the nationally described space standard for its number of bedrooms and bed spaces, with adequate light and outlook; the mix the council will accept is often set by policy, with some boroughs resisting too many small units or requiring a family-sized flat; and every unit needs its own amenity, plus cycle and refuse storage that works for the whole building. Policies resist the loss of family-sized houses, so conversions to flats face an added hurdle, which shapes what mix and layout will pass here.
Where the house sits in a conservation area — Blackheath, Telegraph Hill, Brockley, Deptford High Street and Sydenham among Lewisham's — external changes are read hard: new entrances, bin and bike stores, meter boxes and any subdivision visible from the street all have to respect the area's character. Lewisham operates Article 4 directions in conservation areas such as Brockley alongside controls resisting the conversion of family houses into flats, so works that are permitted development elsewhere routinely need an application here. We resolve the frontage and access before the internal layout is fixed.
Yes — a house-to-flats conversion is a change of use and always needs a full application to Lewisham Council. The scheme has to satisfy each of these, and the drawings are where each is proven:
We lay out flats that meet the space standard, plan the sound and fire separation, and solve the entrances, bins and bike stores — then draw the change-of-use application to Lewisham Council's conversion policy so the scheme is judged on a complete proposal, not bounced for a unit that is too small or a layout that cannot be separated.
Below is Lewisham Council's real householder and residential decision record, drawn from official planning statistics and refreshed as new data lands. Lewisham grants the large majority of householder applications, though its policy shielding family houses from conversion and its Victorian conservation areas shape roof and rear works street by street. Conversions are judged harder than extensions because they create new homes, so a scheme that proves space, mix and separation upfront is decided far more smoothly than one that leaves the officer to find the gaps.
Source: MHCLG planning application statistics (householder decisions, rolling year). Compare every borough on our London approval-rate league table.
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The conversions that pass in Lewisham are the ones that treat the new homes as homes, not as the maximum number of doors that fit. Across Blackheath, Brockley and Telegraph Hill, the approved schemes give each flat a proper layout at or above the space standard, a sensible mix rather than a stack of studios, and amenity, bin and cycle provision that does not wreck the frontage. Overcrowding the building is the quickest route to refusal, and it rarely adds the value it promises.
In the Brockley and Telegraph Hill conservation areas original slate roofs and front elevations are closely guarded. We design the mix to what Lewisham Council will accept, prove each unit meets the standard on the plan, and coordinate the planning layout with the sound and fire separation from the outset — so the scheme that gets permission is the same one building control can sign off, not a layout that has to be torn up at the next stage.
We convert houses and reconfigure flats on the period streets and mansion blocks across the borough. A few of the Lewisham neighbourhoods where conversions come up most often:
Flat conversion drawings for Blackheath's grand villas and terraces on the Lewisham side of the heath — space-standard checked, separation-planned and drawn to Lewisham Council's conversion policy.
Flat conversion drawings for Brockley's long Victorian terraces within one of London's largest conservation areas — space-standard checked, separation-planned and drawn to Lewisham Council's conversion policy.
Flat conversion drawings for Telegraph Hill's hilly Victorian terraces framing the two parks — space-standard checked, separation-planned and drawn to Lewisham Council's conversion policy.
Flat conversion drawings for Deptford's Georgian survivals like Albury Street amid dense terraced streets — space-standard checked, separation-planned and drawn to Lewisham Council's conversion policy.
Flat conversion drawings for Forest Hill's Victorian villas and terraces stepping up the slopes — space-standard checked, separation-planned and drawn to Lewisham Council's conversion policy.
Flat conversion drawings for Sydenham's Victorian terraces and semis toward the Crystal Palace ridge — space-standard checked, separation-planned and drawn to Lewisham Council's conversion policy.
A conversion is judged on planning and building standards together. This is what each requires and who checks it.
| Requirement | What it means | Set by | Checked at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Change of use | Creating separate self-contained units | Planning policy | Lewisham Council planning |
| Space standards | Minimum floor area per bedroom and bed space | National space standard | Lewisham Council planning |
| Unit mix & amenity | Sensible flat sizes, light, outdoor space | Local housing policy | Lewisham Council planning |
| Sound & fire separation | Part E acoustic and protected escape | Building regulations | Building control |
In conservation areas such as Blackheath and Telegraph Hill, external changes to a Lewisham conversion — entrances, bin and bike stores — are assessed against the area's character.
A fixed process built around how Lewisham Council judges conversions — most drawing sets are submission-ready within seven days of survey.
Send us your Lewisham postcode and the building. We test how many units realistically fit at the space standard, confirm the mix Lewisham Council is likely to accept, and flag conservation, Article 4 and access constraints before you commit.
We measure the building accurately, because a conversion lives or dies on floor areas — every flat has to be proven against the space standard on a plan that matches the real property.
We design the flats to the space standard, coordinate the sound and fire separation and the entrances, bins and cycle stores, and draw the full change-of-use application to Lewisham Council's conversion policy.
We lodge the application, manage validation and case-officer queries, and revise the drawings free until Lewisham Council issues its decision.
Always. Splitting one house into two or more self-contained flats is a change of use, which is never permitted development, so a full application to Lewisham Council is required. The council assesses the unit sizes, the mix and the amenity against its housing policy, as well as any external changes. A Lewisham conversion is judged more closely than an extension precisely because it creates new homes.
Each flat must meet the nationally described space standard, which sets a minimum floor area by the number of bedrooms and bed spaces — a one-bed one-person flat starts at 37–39 square metres, and larger units scale up from there. Lewisham Council will refuse units below the standard. We test how many compliant flats a Lewisham building genuinely holds at feasibility, rather than drawing undersized units that cannot be approved.
Once you create separate units, building control requires Part E acoustic separation between them — the floors and party walls must be built or upgraded to resist airborne and impact sound — and a protected means of escape so each flat can be left safely in a fire. These are checked by Lewisham Council's building control, separately from planning. We plan the separation into the layout from the start, so the planning design and the building-regs build are the same scheme.
Not necessarily. Many boroughs set policy on the mix — resisting schemes that are all studios or one-beds, and sometimes requiring a family-sized flat — to keep a range of homes. Lewisham Council applies its own housing policy to a conversion, so the profitable-looking stack of small units is often the one that gets refused. We design the mix to what the borough will actually accept before drawing the application.
Usually yes. Once the Lewisham building is flats, each unit is normally sold or let on a lease, and a Land Registry-compliant lease plan is needed to define its extent. The measured survey behind the conversion drawings is the ideal base for those lease plans, so the same accurate record serves the planning application, the building-regs layout and the leases without measuring the building twice. Lewisham Council is the decision-maker.
We price each Lewisham conversion on the number of units and the building's size and complexity, and send a fixed, no-obligation quote within one working day. It covers the feasibility, the change-of-use application drawings and free revisions until Lewisham Council decides. Building-regs separation drawings and any council fee are quoted separately. Call 020 7864 7245 to start.
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