Dormer, hip-to-gable and mansard loft conversion drawings for West Downs homes — prepared to Swale Borough Council's design guidance, delivered in days and revised free until your decision lands, with a free approval-odds score first.
Swale 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. West Downs contains Bexon, Bredgar, Milstead conservation areas (Bexon designated 2026), 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 postwar (1945–1970) housing stock sets the design brief on most streets.
Before permission is required, Class B allows 40m³ of added loft volume on a terrace and 50m³ on a semi or detached house, and Class A allows a 3m single-storey rear extension on a terrace or 4m on a detached house. West Downs carries at least one Article 4 direction, and conservation areas including Bexon, Bredgar and Milstead remove those rights outright, so we confirm your exact address before a line is drawn. A validated householder application in West Downs is determined against an 8-week statutory target.
Bexon (conservation area designated in 2026), Bredgar (conservation area designated in 1973), Milstead (conservation area designated in 1973), Rodmersham Church Street (conservation area designated in 2022), Rodmersham Green (conservation area designated in 1974), Tunstall (conservation area designated in 1973), Bapchild (civil parish within West Downs), Bredgar (civil parish within West Downs), Milstead (civil parish within West Downs), Rodmersham (civil parish within West Downs) and Tunstall (civil parish within West Downs) — these are the West Downs pockets our drawings cover most. Heritage designations here include Bexon, Bredgar, Milstead, Rodmersham Church Street, Rodmersham Green and Tunstall. Swale Borough Council weighs each proposal against Swale Borough Council's adopted local plan and its householder design guidance, where the 1,410 homes here are 17% pre-1900, 13% 1973-1982, 10% 1955-1964, 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 shallow trussed roofs typical of 1970s building, over Victorian and earlier houses (17% of 1,410 homes), 1970s and early-1980s houses (13%) and late-1950s and early-1960s houses (10%).
What is permitted in West Downs turns on designation first, so that is where we start: Bexon (conservation area designated in 2026), Bredgar (conservation area designated in 1973), Milstead (conservation area designated in 1973), Rodmersham Church Street (conservation area designated in 2022), Rodmersham Green (conservation area designated in 1974) and Tunstall (conservation area designated in 1973). Inside those boundaries permitted development is curtailed and Swale 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.
Beyond the designated areas, West Downs takes in Bapchild, Bredgar, Milstead, Rodmersham and Tunstall. Swale Borough Council has 22 recorded Article 4 directions, removing permitted development for rear and side extensions — check the address before assuming PD applies in West Downs.
On stock, West Downs is Victorian and earlier houses (17% of 1,410 homes), 1970s and early-1980s houses (13%) and late-1950s and early-1960s houses (10%) — which is why steeply pitched slate roofs, valley gutters and party parapets typical of pre-1900 building and shallow trussed roofs typical of 1970s building govern what a loft or rear projection can realistically be. Swale Borough Council decided 329 householder applications in the latest published year and granted 94%, with 37% issued inside the eight-week target. We draw to that record rather than to a national average.
The full build-period split for West Downs runs pre-1900 17% (240 homes), 1900-1918 2% (30 homes), 1919-1929 3% (40 homes), 1930-1939 7% (100 homes), 1945-1954 7% (100 homes), 1955-1964 10% (140 homes), 1965-1972 4% (60 homes), 1973-1982 13% (180 homes), 1983-1992 1% (20 homes), 1993-1999 3% (40 homes) and 2000-2008 9% (120 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.
Swale Borough Council also decides for Abbey, Borden and Grove Park, Boughton and Courtenay, East Downs, Sheerness, Teynham and Lynsted and Watling, so a decision in West Downs 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 1 and 2 Flint Cottages, 20 East Street, 43-47, 49-51, 54, 56, 57, 59-72 Marine Parade and 49, 88, 90, 104, 114-128(evens), 132-140(evens) The Street and 1 & 2 Chapel Cottages. 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 West Downs and Swale 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 | West Downs |
|---|---|
| Dwellings recorded | 1,410 |
| Built pre-1900 | 240 (17%) |
| Built 1900-1918 | 30 (2%) |
| Built 1919-1929 | 40 (3%) |
| Built 1930-1939 | 100 (7%) |
| Built 1945-1954 | 100 (7%) |
| Built 1955-1964 | 140 (10%) |
| Built 1965-1972 | 60 (4%) |
| Built 1973-1982 | 180 (13%) |
| Built 1983-1992 | 20 (1%) |
| Built 1993-1999 | 40 (3%) |
| Built 2000-2008 | 120 (9%) |
| Built before 1919 | 19% |
| Built 1919–1939 | 10% |
| Built 1945–2008 | 47% |
| Conservation areas in West Downs | 6 (Bexon, Bredgar…) |
| Conservation areas district-wide | 52 |
| Article 4 directions recorded | 22 |
| Householder applications decided | 329 |
| Householder applications granted | 94% |
| Decided within 8 weeks | 37% |
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 Swale Borough Council's own, from MHCLG live table PS2 for the year to 31 March 2026.
West Downs's roofs set the brief. The borough is built largely from Victorian and earlier houses (17% of 1,410 homes), 1970s and early-1980s houses (13%) and late-1950s and early-1960s houses (10%), and its lofts sit under steeply pitched slate roofs, valley gutters and party parapets typical of pre-1900 building and shallow trussed roofs typical of 1970s building — the geometry that decides whether a rear dormer, a hip-to-gable or a mansard gives you the headroom you want. Swale Borough Council assesses loft proposals against Swale Borough Council's adopted local plan and its householder 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 Swale Borough Council can verify them. West Downs contains Bexon, Bredgar, Milstead conservation areas (Bexon designated 2026), 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.
West Downs also carries protected streets — Bexon, Bredgar, Milstead, Rodmersham Church Street, Rodmersham Green and Tunstall among them. Swale Borough Council has 22 recorded Article 4 directions, removing permitted development for rear and side extensions — check the address before assuming PD applies in West Downs. We check your address against those designations before a line is drawn.
Many West Downs 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 Swale 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 Swale 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 Swale Borough Council's real householder decision record, pulled from official planning statistics and updated as new data lands. Swale Borough Council granted 94% of its householder applications in the year to 31 March 2026, and Bexon 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 Bexon, Bredgar and Milstead, 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 shallow trussed roofs typical of 1970s building, a hip-to-gable followed by a rear dormer unlocks far more space, though it needs a full application.
The 1,410 homes here are 17% pre-1900, 13% 1973-1982, 10% 1955-1964, 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 Swale 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 West Downs roofs come up most often:
Loft conversion drawings for Bexon's conservation area designated in 2026 — measured, volume-checked and drawn to Swale Borough Council's guidance.
Loft conversion drawings for Bredgar's conservation area designated in 1973 — measured, volume-checked and drawn to Swale Borough Council's guidance.
Loft conversion drawings for Milstead's conservation area designated in 1973 — measured, volume-checked and drawn to Swale Borough Council's guidance.
Loft conversion drawings for Rodmersham Church Street's conservation area designated in 2022 — measured, volume-checked and drawn to Swale Borough Council's guidance.
Loft conversion drawings for Rodmersham Green's conservation area designated in 1974 — measured, volume-checked and drawn to Swale Borough Council's guidance.
Loft conversion drawings for Tunstall's conservation area designated in 1973 — measured, volume-checked and drawn to Swale Borough Council's guidance.
The right loft in West Downs 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 Swale 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 Bexon and Bredgar and Article 4 directions can remove permitted-development rights.
A fixed process built around how Swale Borough Council validates and decides householder loft applications — most drawings are submission-ready within seven days of survey.
Tell us your West Downs 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 Swale 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 Swale Borough Council's roof-alteration guidance.
We submit the certificate or application, manage validation and case-officer queries, and revise the drawings free until Swale 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 West Downs the main exceptions are hip-to-gable conversions, dormers visible from the highway, and homes in conservation areas such as Bexon and Bredgar or on streets with an Article 4 direction. Swale Borough Council is the decision-maker.
Generally no. In conservation areas including Bexon and Bredgar, Class B permitted-development rights for lofts are removed, so a rear dormer that would be lawful elsewhere needs a full application to Swale Borough Council. Swale Borough Council has 22 recorded Article 4 directions, removing permitted development for rear and side extensions — check the address before assuming PD applies in West Downs. We check your exact address before drawing.
On steeply pitched slate roofs, valley gutters and party parapets typical of pre-1900 building, common across West Downs, a rear dormer is usually the most efficient conversion and often permitted development. Where the roof is shallow trussed roofs typical of 1970s 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. Swale Borough Council is the decision-maker.
A householder planning application in West Downs 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. Swale Borough Council is the decision-maker.
If your dormer is permitted development, a lawful development certificate from Swale 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 West Downs address specifically.
Every roof is different, so we quote each West Downs project individually — a fixed, no-obligation price back within one working day. The quote covers the full drawing pack with free revisions until Swale 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.