The fast route to a deep single-storey rear extension in Greenwich — up to 6 metres on an attached house or 8 on a detached one — via the Royal Borough of Greenwich's prior approval scheme rather than a full planning application.
the Royal Borough of Greenwich granted 87% of the householder planning decisions it made in its latest published year — level with the 87% England-wide householder average. The Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site and its buffer zone add height and setting tests near the town centre, which is where a policy-literate drawing pack earns its keep. Its dominant Georgian (1714–1837), Victorian (1837–1901), Edwardian (1901–1910) and interwar (1918–1939) housing stock sets the design brief on most streets.
Class A and Class B set the thresholds — a rear dormer to 40m³ on a terrace or 50m³ on a semi or detached, and a single-storey rear extension to 3m on a terrace or 4m on a detached house — beyond which the Royal Borough of Greenwich needs a full application. Greenwich carries at least one Article 4 direction, and conservation areas including West Greenwich, Blackheath Park and Ashburnham Triangle remove those rights outright, so we confirm your exact address before a line is drawn. A validated householder application in Greenwich is determined against an 8-week statutory target.
Greenwich (Georgian and early-Victorian terraces inside the West Greenwich conservation area), Blackheath (villas and terraces around the Cator Estate and Blackheath Park), Westcombe Park (Edwardian and Victorian villas climbing the hill above the river), Charlton (the older cottages and interwar streets around Charlton Village), Eltham (interwar semis including the Well Hall Progress Estate) and Woolwich (denser Victorian terraces amid riverside regeneration) — these are the Greenwich pockets our drawings cover most. Heritage designations here include West Greenwich, Blackheath Park, Ashburnham Triangle, Westcombe Park and Charlton Village. the Royal Borough of Greenwich weighs each proposal against the Royal Greenwich Local Plan: Core Strategy with Detailed Policies and the borough's residential extensions design guidance, where protected Thames-side views shape what roof additions are acceptable on the borough's northern edge. On roofs the borough is parapet and butterfly roofs on the Georgian terraces and pitched and hipped roofs on the villas, over Georgian and early-Victorian terraces, Victorian and Edwardian villas and riverside and interwar housing.
The ordinary Class A limits stop a single-storey rear extension at 3 metres on an attached house and 4 on a detached one. The larger home extension scheme doubles both, on condition that the council is told first. That notification is not an application for permission — the council cannot refuse on design, materials or policy grounds. It can only consider the effect on the amenity of adjoining premises, and only if a neighbour actually objects during the 21-day consultation.
The other conditions still apply and are strict: single storey only, no higher than 4 metres, eaves no higher than the existing eaves, and no more than half the land around the original house covered. It is not available on designated land, so a house in a conservation area such as West Greenwich and Blackheath Park cannot use it at all. Materials must be similar to the existing house, and the extension must not include a veranda, balcony or raised platform.
Greenwich is largely Georgian and early-Victorian terraces, Victorian and Edwardian villas and riverside and interwar housing. The Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site and its buffer zone add height and setting tests near the town centre, which matters here because an objecting neighbour puts amenity squarely in front of a case officer. Article 4 directions strip out permitted-development rights across Greenwich's conservation areas such as West Greenwich and Westcombe Park, so front-facing and roof alterations there need a full application.
The scheme is available where all of these hold. Fail any one and it is a full application to the Royal Borough of Greenwich instead:
We prepare the notification pack the Royal Borough of Greenwich needs — plans, elevations, a site plan with the adjoining owners identified — and manage the 21-day neighbour consultation so the 42-day clock is not restarted by an incomplete submission.
Below is the Royal Borough of Greenwich's real householder decision record, drawn from official planning statistics and refreshed as new data lands. Greenwich approves most householder applications, but the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site and its dense conservation coverage set the terms for what works near the town centre and the river. Prior approval turns on neighbour amenity alone, so the drawings that matter are the ones showing the relationship to the boundary.
Source: MHCLG planning application statistics (householder decisions, rolling year). 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 Greenwich, Blackheath and Westcombe Park, the notifications that clear without objection are the ones that treat the neighbour as the audience. We show the extension in section against the boundary, demonstrate the 45-degree daylight relationship to the nearest habitable window, and where the plot is tight we taper the depth away from the boundary rather than running the full 6 metres to the fence.
Protected Thames-side views shape what roof additions are acceptable on the borough's northern edge. Where an objection does arrive, the council's assessment is narrow: loss of light, outlook and overbearing effect on the adjoining property, nothing else. A pack that has already answered those three points on the drawings usually survives an objection, whereas one that leaves them to the officer's imagination usually does not.
We prepare prior-approval notifications across Greenwich. A few of the areas where deep rear extensions come up most often:
Prior approval drawings for Greenwich — Georgian and early-Victorian terraces inside the West Greenwich conservation area — dimensioned to the 6m and 8m limits and prepared for the Royal Borough of Greenwich's neighbour consultation.
Prior approval drawings for Blackheath — villas and terraces around the Cator Estate and Blackheath Park — dimensioned to the 6m and 8m limits and prepared for the Royal Borough of Greenwich's neighbour consultation.
Prior approval drawings for Westcombe Park — Edwardian and Victorian villas climbing the hill above the river — dimensioned to the 6m and 8m limits and prepared for the Royal Borough of Greenwich's neighbour consultation.
Prior approval drawings for Charlton — the older cottages and interwar streets around Charlton Village — dimensioned to the 6m and 8m limits and prepared for the Royal Borough of Greenwich's neighbour consultation.
Prior approval drawings for Eltham — interwar semis including the Well Hall Progress Estate — dimensioned to the 6m and 8m limits and prepared for the Royal Borough of Greenwich's neighbour consultation.
Prior approval drawings for Woolwich — denser Victorian terraces amid riverside regeneration — dimensioned to the 6m and 8m limits and prepared for the Royal Borough of Greenwich's neighbour consultation.
Same extension, two routes, very different tests.
| Route | Depth allowed | What the council may consider | Timescale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary Class A permitted development | 3m attached / 4m detached | Nothing — no application needed | Immediate |
| Larger home extension prior approval | 6m attached / 8m detached | Amenity of adjoining premises, only if a neighbour objects | 21-day consultation, 42-day determination |
| Full householder application | No fixed limit | Design, materials, policy, amenity, everything | 8-week target |
| Any of these on designated land | 3m / 4m only | Prior approval scheme unavailable | Full application beyond the limits |
Limits and procedure from the GPDO 2015, Schedule 2, Part 1, Class A and paragraph A.4, made permanent by amendment in 2019.
A process built around the 21-day consultation, which is where these schemes are won or lost.
Send us your Greenwich postcode and house type. We confirm whether the property is on designated land, whether the scheme is available, and what depth you can realistically take.
We measure the original rear wall, eaves height, boundary distances and the neighbouring windows that the amenity assessment will turn on.
We draw the extension to the 6m or 8m limit with the boundary relationship shown in section, and prepare the written description and adjoining-owner details the Royal Borough of Greenwich needs to start the consultation.
We submit, track the 21-day consultation and the 42-day determination, respond to any objection on amenity grounds, and revise free until the decision.
Three metres on a terraced or semi-detached house and four on a detached one under ordinary permitted development. Under the larger home extension prior approval scheme those double to six and eight metres, provided you notify the Royal Borough of Greenwich before starting and the conditions on height, materials and land coverage are met. The scheme is not available on designated land.
It is a notification, not an application for permission. You tell the Royal Borough of Greenwich what you intend to build, it writes to the adjoining owners, and they have 21 days to object. If nobody objects, you may build. If someone does, the council assesses the effect on the amenity of adjoining premises and must decide within 42 days. Design and policy are not in scope.
The council then considers the impact on the amenity of the adjoining property — loss of light, loss of outlook, and overbearing effect — and nothing else. It cannot refuse because it dislikes the design or the materials. We prepare the drawings so those three questions are already answered in section and on the site plan, which is what usually carries an objected scheme through. This applies to your Greenwich address specifically. the Royal Borough of Greenwich is the decision-maker.
No. The larger home extension scheme is unavailable on designated land, which includes conservation areas such as West Greenwich and Blackheath Park, national landscapes, national parks and world heritage sites. On those properties the ordinary 3-metre and 4-metre limits apply, and anything deeper needs a full householder application to the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
Twenty-one days for the neighbour consultation, and a maximum of 42 days from a valid submission for the council to determine it. If the council does not respond within 42 days you may proceed as notified. That deadline is the scheme's real advantage over a full application, and it is why validation completeness matters so much. This applies to your Greenwich address specifically. the Royal Borough of Greenwich is the decision-maker.
Yes — always. Prior approval deals only with the planning position. A 6-metre rear extension still needs building control approval for foundations, structure, drainage, thermal performance and fire safety, and the beam over the opening into the existing house needs designing and calculating. We prepare both sets so the notified scheme is the buildable one. This applies to your Greenwich address specifically. the Royal Borough of Greenwich is the decision-maker.
We quote each Greenwich scheme individually, because plot shape and the boundary relationship drive the work, and send a fixed, no-obligation quote within one working day. It covers the notification pack and free revisions until the Royal Borough of Greenwich determines it. Call 020 7864 7245 to start.
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Same fixed quotes, same fast drawings — wherever your project is.