Dormer, hip-to-gable and mansard loft conversion drawings for Central homes — prepared to Worthing Borough Council's design guidance, delivered in days and revised free until your decision lands, with a free approval-odds score first.
Worthing Borough Council granted 94% of the householder planning decisions it made in its latest published year — 7 points above the 87% England-wide householder average. Central contains Chapel Road, Little High Street, Montague Street conservation areas (Chapel Road designated 1997), 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 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. Central carries at least one Article 4 direction, and conservation areas including Chapel Road, Little High Street and Montague Street remove those rights outright, so we confirm your exact address before a line is drawn. A validated householder application in Central is determined against an 8-week statutory target.
Chapel Road (conservation area designated in 1997), Little High Street (conservation area designated in 1997), Montague Street (conservation area designated in 2000), Park Crescent (conservation area designated in 1975), Richmond Road (conservation area designated in 1997), South Street (conservation area designated in 2000), Steyne Gardens (conservation area designated in 2000) and Warwick Gardens (conservation area designated in 1985) — these are the Central pockets our drawings cover most. Heritage designations here include Chapel Road, Little High Street, Montague Street, Park Crescent, Richmond Road, South Street, Steyne Gardens and Warwick Gardens. Worthing Borough Council weighs each proposal against Worthing Borough Council's development plan and the design policies it applies to householder applications, where the 5,950 homes here are 37% pre-1900, 20% 1900-1918, 10% 2000-2008, which is what sets the realistic roof and rear-projection options. On roofs the borough is steeply pitched slate roofs, valley gutters and party parapets typical of pre-1900 building and pitched and hipped roofs with generous eaves typical of Edwardian building, over Victorian and earlier houses (37% of 5,950 homes), Edwardian houses (20%) and 2000s houses and apartments (10%).
Central's designated heritage is specific, and it is the first thing we check against your address: Chapel Road (conservation area designated in 1997), Little High Street (conservation area designated in 1997), Montague Street (conservation area designated in 2000), Park Crescent (conservation area designated in 1975), Richmond Road (conservation area designated in 1997), South Street (conservation area designated in 2000), Steyne Gardens (conservation area designated in 2000) and Warwick Gardens (conservation area designated in 1985). Inside those boundaries permitted development is curtailed and Worthing Borough 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.
Worthing Borough Council has 8 recorded Article 4 directions, removing permitted development for rear and side extensions and roof enlargements such as dormers — check the address before assuming PD applies in Central.
On stock, Central is Victorian and earlier houses (37% of 5,950 homes), Edwardian houses (20%) and 2000s houses and apartments (10%) — which is why steeply pitched slate roofs, valley gutters and party parapets typical of pre-1900 building and pitched and hipped roofs with generous eaves typical of Edwardian building govern what a loft or rear projection can realistically be. Worthing Borough Council decided 302 householder applications in the latest published year and granted 94%, with 53% issued inside the eight-week target. Those are the numbers our drawings are prepared against.
The full build-period split for Central runs pre-1900 37% (2,180 homes), 1900-1918 20% (1,170 homes), 1919-1929 1% (80 homes), 1930-1939 3% (150 homes), 1955-1964 2% (120 homes), 1965-1972 3% (160 homes), 1973-1982 5% (320 homes), 1983-1992 7% (440 homes), 1993-1999 2% (110 homes) and 2000-2008 10% (600 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.
Worthing Borough Council also decides for Goring, Heene, Marine and Salvington, so a decision in Central 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 Ambrose Place, Church Road, Tarring, Cowper Road and Land West of The Plantation. 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 Central and Worthing Borough Council. These are the numbers that decide what is realistic on your street, so we work from them rather than from national averages.
| Measure | Central |
|---|---|
| Dwellings recorded | 5,950 |
| Built pre-1900 | 2,180 (37%) |
| Built 1900-1918 | 1,170 (20%) |
| Built 1919-1929 | 80 (1%) |
| Built 1930-1939 | 150 (3%) |
| Built 1955-1964 | 120 (2%) |
| Built 1965-1972 | 160 (3%) |
| Built 1973-1982 | 320 (5%) |
| Built 1983-1992 | 440 (7%) |
| Built 1993-1999 | 110 (2%) |
| Built 2000-2008 | 600 (10%) |
| Built before 1919 | 56% |
| Built 1919–1939 | 4% |
| Built 1945–2008 | 29% |
| Conservation areas in Central | 8 (Chapel Road, Little High Street…) |
| Conservation areas district-wide | 26 |
| Article 4 directions recorded | 8 |
| Householder applications decided | 302 |
| Householder applications granted | 94% |
| Decided within 8 weeks | 53% |
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 Worthing Borough Council's own, from MHCLG live table PS2 for the year to 31 March 2026.
Central's roofs set the brief. The borough is built largely from Victorian and earlier houses (37% of 5,950 homes), Edwardian houses (20%) and 2000s houses and apartments (10%), and its lofts sit under steeply pitched slate roofs, valley gutters and party parapets typical of pre-1900 building and pitched and hipped roofs with generous eaves typical of Edwardian building — the geometry that decides whether a rear dormer, a hip-to-gable or a mansard gives you the headroom you want. Worthing Borough Council assesses loft proposals against Worthing Borough Council's development plan and the design policies it applies to householder applications, and its case officers read each roof against the pair next door and the wider street before they read the plans.
That makes drawing quality decisive. We measure ridge and eaves heights, roof pitch and the existing stair, calculate the added volume against the permitted-development limits exactly, and show the workings on the drawings so Worthing Borough Council can verify them. Central contains Chapel Road, Little High Street, Montague Street conservation areas (Chapel Road designated 1997), so materials, fenestration and roof form are assessed against the appraisal, so we resolve it on the page rather than leave it for the case officer to raise.
Central also carries protected streets — Chapel Road, Little High Street, Montague Street, Park Crescent, Richmond Road, South Street, Steyne Gardens and Warwick Gardens among them. Worthing Borough Council has 8 recorded Article 4 directions, removing permitted development for rear and side extensions and roof enlargements such as dormers — check the address before assuming PD applies in Central. We check your address against those designations before a line is drawn.
Many Central loft conversions proceed without planning permission — a rear dormer within the permitted-development volume limits (40 cubic metres on a terrace, 50 on a semi or detached house) is usually lawful. You will normally need a full application to Worthing Borough Council if any of these apply:
We draw the roof line, the ridge height and the neighbour's daylight on the page — the relationships Worthing Borough Council's officers check first — and submit a validation-complete pack, whether that is a lawful development certificate or a full householder application.
Below is Worthing Borough Council's real householder decision record, pulled from official planning statistics and updated as new data lands. Worthing Borough Council granted 94% of its householder applications in the year to 31 March 2026, and Chapel Road shapes what is approved here. Professionally prepared loft drawings anticipate those pressure points before submission, which is why complete, policy-literate packs are decided faster and refused less often than DIY applications.
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 Chapel Road, Little High Street and Montague Street, the recurring loft is the rear dormer — a box across the back roof slope that turns a cramped attic into a full-height double bedroom and en-suite. On steeply pitched slate roofs, valley gutters and party parapets typical of pre-1900 building, that is usually the most efficient use of the roof; where the stock is pitched and hipped roofs with generous eaves typical of Edwardian building, a hip-to-gable followed by a rear dormer unlocks far more space, though it needs a full application.
The 5,950 homes here are 37% pre-1900, 20% 1900-1918, 10% 2000-2008, which is what sets the realistic roof and rear-projection options. We draw the dormer inside the volume allowance, keep the flat-roof build-up below the ridge, and set the face back from the eaves as the rules require — so the pack answers Worthing Borough Council's questions before they are asked. Where permitted-development rights are exhausted or removed, we prepare a householder application composed to the borough's roof-alteration guidance instead.
We draw loft conversions on every street in the borough. A few of the neighbourhoods where Central roofs come up most often:
Loft conversion drawings for Chapel Road's conservation area designated in 1997 — measured, volume-checked and drawn to Worthing Borough Council's guidance.
Loft conversion drawings for Little High Street's conservation area designated in 1997 — measured, volume-checked and drawn to Worthing Borough Council's guidance.
Loft conversion drawings for Montague Street's conservation area designated in 2000 — measured, volume-checked and drawn to Worthing Borough Council's guidance.
Loft conversion drawings for Park Crescent's conservation area designated in 1975 — measured, volume-checked and drawn to Worthing Borough Council's guidance.
Loft conversion drawings for Richmond Road's conservation area designated in 1997 — measured, volume-checked and drawn to Worthing Borough Council's guidance.
Loft conversion drawings for South Street's conservation area designated in 2000 — measured, volume-checked and drawn to Worthing Borough Council's guidance.
The right loft in Central depends on your roof. This is how the main types compare on planning route and the space they add.
| Loft type | Permitted development? | Space & headroom | What Worthing Borough Council checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rear dormer | Usually yes, within volume limits | Full-height double room at the back | Volume, set-back from eaves, ridge height |
| Hip-to-gable | No — full application | Extends the whole side of the roof | Roof bulk and the symmetry of the pair |
| Mansard | No — full application | Maximum floor area across the roof | Street character, especially in conservation areas |
| Rooflights only | Usually yes (Class C) | Light and headroom, no extra footprint | Whether rooflights sit within the existing slope |
Route depends on your street — conservation areas such as Chapel Road and Little High Street and Article 4 directions can remove permitted-development rights.
A fixed process built around how Worthing Borough Council validates and decides householder loft applications — most drawings are submission-ready within seven days of survey.
Tell us your Central postcode and roof type. We confirm your conservation and Article 4 status, how much permitted-development volume you have left, and score your odds against live Worthing Borough Council decisions.
We measure ridge and eaves heights, roof pitch, joist levels and the existing stair — the numbers the volume calculation and head heights depend on.
Chartered designers develop the dormer, hip-to-gable or mansard to your brief, drawn inside the Class B limits or to Worthing Borough Council's roof-alteration guidance.
We submit the certificate or application, manage validation and case-officer queries, and revise the drawings free until Worthing Borough Council issues its decision.
Often not. A rear dormer within 40 cubic metres on a terrace, or 50 on a semi-detached or detached house, set back from the eaves and no higher than the ridge, is usually permitted development. In Central the main exceptions are hip-to-gable conversions, dormers visible from the highway, and homes in conservation areas such as Chapel Road and Little High Street or on streets with an Article 4 direction. Worthing Borough Council is the decision-maker.
Generally no. In conservation areas including Chapel Road and Little High Street, Class B permitted-development rights for lofts are removed, so a rear dormer that would be lawful elsewhere needs a full application to Worthing Borough Council. Worthing Borough Council has 8 recorded Article 4 directions, removing permitted development for rear and side extensions and roof enlargements such as dormers — check the address before assuming PD applies in Central. We check your exact address before drawing.
On steeply pitched slate roofs, valley gutters and party parapets typical of pre-1900 building, common across Central, a rear dormer is usually the most efficient conversion and often permitted development. Where the roof is pitched and hipped roofs with generous eaves typical of Edwardian building, a hip-to-gable followed by a rear dormer gains far more usable space but needs planning permission. Our survey confirms which your roof supports before we draw. Worthing Borough Council is the decision-maker.
A householder planning application in Central runs to a statutory eight-week target, and a lawful development certificate to eight weeks as well, though validation can add time if the pack is incomplete. We submit validation-complete drawings and manage case-officer queries to keep the decision on track. Worthing Borough Council is the decision-maker.
If your dormer is permitted development, a lawful development certificate from Worthing Borough Council is council-stamped proof of that — worth having, because every buyer's solicitor will ask for it when you sell. We prepare and submit the certificate application with the same drawing pack. This applies to your Central address specifically.
Every roof is different, so we quote each Central project individually — a fixed, no-obligation price back within one working day. The quote covers the full drawing pack with free revisions until Worthing Borough Council approves, and we tell you upfront whether your loft qualifies as permitted development. Call 020 7864 7245 to start.
Answer five quick questions and get a free planning score for your exact address — instantly. Then, if you want the full picture, unlock the detailed analysis: your council's live approval rates, local precedents, constraints on your street and a step-by-step route to permission.
Same fixed quotes, same fast drawings — wherever your project is.