The fast route to a deep single-storey rear extension in Old Town, Hull — up to 6 metres on an attached house or 8 on a detached one — via Hull City Council's prior approval scheme rather than a full planning application.
Hull City Council granted 91% of the householder planning decisions it made in its latest published year — 4 points above the 87% England-wide householder average. The Old Town sits behind the Humber's tidal defences in a high flood-risk zone, so conversions of historic and warehouse buildings must demonstrate flood resilience and safe access, which is where a policy-literate drawing pack earns its keep. Its dominant Georgian (1714–1837) and Victorian (1837–1901) 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 Hull City Council needs a full application. In conservation areas such as Old Town, Georgian New Town and Charterhouse those rights are removed, so we confirm your exact address before a line is drawn. A validated householder application in Old Town, Hull is determined against an 8-week statutory target.
High Street (medieval merchant lane with staithes and listed warehouses along the River Hull), Fruit Market (regenerated warehouse quarter of apartments and studios by the marina), Land of Green Ginger (narrow historic street of Georgian frontages in the Old Town core), Charterhouse (almshouse precinct and terraces in their own conservation area north of the centre), Georgian New Town (planned late-Georgian streets around Charlotte Street and Kingston Square) and Wincolmlee (former industrial riverside with warehouse and mill conversions) — these are the Old Town, Hull pockets our drawings cover most. Heritage designations here include Old Town, Georgian New Town, Charterhouse and Wincolmlee. Hull City Council weighs each proposal against the Hull Local Plan 2016–2032, where listed-building density means most works need listed-building consent alongside planning permission, and pastiche or over-glazed additions are resisted. Much of the Old Town and Fruit Market is flatted through warehouse and merchant-house conversion, so householder permitted-development rights rarely apply.. On roofs the borough is pitched and mansard roofs on the historic buildings and flat and parapet-hidden roofs on warehouse conversions, over Georgian and Victorian merchant houses and warehouses, converted riverside and staith-side buildings and modern apartment infill in the Fruit Market.
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 Old Town and Georgian New Town 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.
Old Town, Hull is largely Georgian and Victorian merchant houses and warehouses, converted riverside and staith-side buildings and modern apartment infill in the Fruit Market. The Old Town sits behind the Humber's tidal defences in a high flood-risk zone, so conversions of historic and warehouse buildings must demonstrate flood resilience and safe access, which matters here because an objecting neighbour puts amenity squarely in front of a case officer. The Old Town is not covered by Hull's HMO Article 4 direction, which is focused on the university quarter, but as one of the city's most sensitive conservation areas almost every external alteration here needs consent regardless of permitted-development rights.
The scheme is available where all of these hold. Fail any one and it is a full application to Hull City Council instead:
We prepare the notification pack Hull City Council 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 Hull City Council's real householder decision record, drawn from official planning statistics and refreshed as new data lands. Hull grants about 91% of its decisions, but in the Old Town the exceptional heritage sensitivity and listed-building controls are the constraint that governs design far more than the headline rate. 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, 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 High Street, Fruit Market and Land of Green Ginger, 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.
Listed-building density means most works need listed-building consent alongside planning permission, and pastiche or over-glazed additions are resisted. 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 Old Town, Hull. A few of the areas where deep rear extensions come up most often:
Prior approval drawings for High Street — medieval merchant lane with staithes and listed warehouses along the River Hull — dimensioned to the 6m and 8m limits and prepared for Hull City Council's neighbour consultation.
Prior approval drawings for Fruit Market — regenerated warehouse quarter of apartments and studios by the marina — dimensioned to the 6m and 8m limits and prepared for Hull City Council's neighbour consultation.
Prior approval drawings for Land of Green Ginger — narrow historic street of Georgian frontages in the Old Town core — dimensioned to the 6m and 8m limits and prepared for Hull City Council's neighbour consultation.
Prior approval drawings for Charterhouse — almshouse precinct and terraces in their own conservation area north of the centre — dimensioned to the 6m and 8m limits and prepared for Hull City Council's neighbour consultation.
Prior approval drawings for Georgian New Town — planned late-Georgian streets around Charlotte Street and Kingston Square — dimensioned to the 6m and 8m limits and prepared for Hull City Council's neighbour consultation.
Prior approval drawings for Wincolmlee — former industrial riverside with warehouse and mill conversions — dimensioned to the 6m and 8m limits and prepared for Hull City Council'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 Old Town, Hull 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 Hull City Council 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 Hull City Council before starting and the conditions on height, materials and land coverage are met. The scheme is not available on designated land. This applies to your Old Town, Hull address specifically.
It is a notification, not an application for permission. You tell Hull City Council 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. This applies to your Old Town, Hull address specifically.
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 Old Town, Hull address specifically. Hull City Council is the decision-maker.
No. The larger home extension scheme is unavailable on designated land, which includes conservation areas such as Old Town and Georgian New Town, 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 Hull City Council. This applies to your Old Town, Hull address specifically.
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 Old Town, Hull address specifically. Hull City Council 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 Old Town, Hull address specifically. Hull City Council is the decision-maker.
We quote each Old Town, Hull 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 Hull City Council determines it. Call 020 7864 7245 to start.
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Same fixed quotes, same fast drawings — wherever your project is.