Dormer, hip-to-gable and mansard loft conversion drawings for Greenwich homes — prepared to the Royal Borough of Greenwich's design guidance, delivered in days and revised free until your decision lands, with a free approval-odds score first.
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.
Greenwich's roofs set the brief. The borough is built largely from Georgian and early-Victorian terraces, Victorian and Edwardian villas and riverside and interwar housing, and its lofts sit under parapet and butterfly roofs on the Georgian terraces and pitched and hipped roofs on the villas — the geometry that decides whether a rear dormer, a hip-to-gable or a mansard gives you the headroom you want. the Royal Borough of Greenwich assesses loft proposals against the Royal Greenwich Local Plan: Core Strategy with Detailed Policies and the borough's residential extensions design guidance, 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 the Royal Borough of Greenwich can verify them. The Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site and its buffer zone add height and setting tests near the town centre, so we resolve it on the page rather than leave it for the case officer to raise.
Greenwich also carries protected streets — West Greenwich, Blackheath Park, Ashburnham Triangle, Westcombe Park and Charlton Village among them. 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. We check your address against those designations before a line is drawn.
Many Greenwich 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 the Royal Borough of Greenwich if any of these apply:
We draw the roof line, the ridge height and the neighbour's daylight on the page — the relationships the Royal Borough of Greenwich's officers check first — and submit a validation-complete pack, whether that is a lawful development certificate or a full householder application.
Below is the Royal Borough of Greenwich's real householder decision record, pulled from official planning statistics and updated 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. 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, 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 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 parapet and butterfly roofs on the Georgian terraces, that is usually the most efficient use of the roof; where the stock is pitched and hipped roofs on the villas, a hip-to-gable followed by a rear dormer unlocks far more space, though it needs a full application.
Protected Thames-side views shape what roof additions are acceptable on the borough's northern edge. 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 the Royal Borough of Greenwich'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 Greenwich roofs come up most often:
Loft conversion drawings for Greenwich's Georgian and early-Victorian terraces inside the West Greenwich conservation area — measured, volume-checked and drawn to the Royal Borough of Greenwich's guidance.
Loft conversion drawings for Blackheath's villas and terraces around the Cator Estate and Blackheath Park — measured, volume-checked and drawn to the Royal Borough of Greenwich's guidance.
Loft conversion drawings for Westcombe Park's Edwardian and Victorian villas climbing the hill above the river — measured, volume-checked and drawn to the Royal Borough of Greenwich's guidance.
Loft conversion drawings for Charlton's the older cottages and interwar streets around Charlton Village — measured, volume-checked and drawn to the Royal Borough of Greenwich's guidance.
Loft conversion drawings for Eltham's interwar semis including the Well Hall Progress Estate — measured, volume-checked and drawn to the Royal Borough of Greenwich's guidance.
Loft conversion drawings for Woolwich's denser Victorian terraces amid riverside regeneration — measured, volume-checked and drawn to the Royal Borough of Greenwich's guidance.
The right loft in Greenwich 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 the Royal Borough of Greenwich 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 West Greenwich and Blackheath Park and Article 4 directions can remove permitted-development rights.
A fixed process built around how the Royal Borough of Greenwich validates and decides householder loft applications — most drawings are submission-ready within seven days of survey.
Tell us your Greenwich 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 the Royal Borough of Greenwich 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 the Royal Borough of Greenwich's roof-alteration guidance.
We submit the certificate or application, manage validation and case-officer queries, and revise the drawings free until the Royal Borough of Greenwich 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 Greenwich the main exceptions are hip-to-gable conversions, dormers visible from the highway, and homes in conservation areas such as West Greenwich and Blackheath Park or on streets with an Article 4 direction. the Royal Borough of Greenwich is the decision-maker.
Generally no. In conservation areas including West Greenwich and Blackheath Park, Class B permitted-development rights for lofts are removed, so a rear dormer that would be lawful elsewhere needs a full application to the Royal Borough of Greenwich. 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. We check your exact address before drawing.
On parapet and butterfly roofs on the Georgian terraces, common across Greenwich, a rear dormer is usually the most efficient conversion and often permitted development. Where the roof is pitched and hipped roofs on the villas, 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. the Royal Borough of Greenwich is the decision-maker.
A householder planning application in Greenwich 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. the Royal Borough of Greenwich is the decision-maker.
If your dormer is permitted development, a lawful development certificate from the Royal Borough of Greenwich 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.
Every roof is different, so we quote each Greenwich project individually — a fixed, no-obligation price back within one working day. The quote covers the full drawing pack with free revisions until the Royal Borough of Greenwich 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.