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Planning application drawings for a Greenwich home — scaled plans and elevations ready for submission
Greenwich · Planning Application Drawings & Submission

Planning application drawings in Greenwich

The full drawing set for a Greenwich application — location and block plans, existing and proposed floor plans, elevations and sections, drawn to the Royal Borough of Greenwich's validation checklist so the pack is accepted first time, delivered in days and revised free until your decision, with a free approval-odds check first.

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What the data says about planning in Greenwich

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.

What goes in a Greenwich planning application

Whatever you are building, the Royal Borough of Greenwich decides it from the same core set. A location plan at 1:1250 fixes the site on the map with the red-line boundary; a block plan at 1:500 shows the property in its plot; then existing and proposed floor plans and elevations at 1:100 or 1:50 show the house as it is and as it will be. Larger schemes add a section and, where policy requires, a design and access statement. Miss one and the application is returned invalid before an officer has looked at it.

The drawings are also the argument. the Royal Borough of Greenwich assesses each proposal against the Royal Greenwich Local Plan: Core Strategy with Detailed Policies and the borough's residential extensions design guidance, and the elevations are where the case is won or lost — ridge and eaves heights, window positions, materials and how the change reads from the street. On Greenwich's stock, which runs to Georgian and early-Victorian terraces, Victorian and Edwardian villas and riverside and interwar housing, the same scheme is drawn differently to answer the concerns officers raise here. The Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site and its buffer zone add height and setting tests near the town centre, so the pack is built to pre-empt exactly that.

Where the property sits in a conservation area — West Greenwich, Blackheath Park, Ashburnham Triangle, Westcombe Park and Charlton Village among Greenwich's — validation is stricter still, often demanding heritage detail and sometimes additional plans. 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 confirm the designation before drawing so the pack meets the higher bar first time.

Planning drawing package prepared for a Greenwich application

What drawings do I need for a planning application in Greenwich?

the Royal Borough of Greenwich validates against a published checklist before it assesses anything. A typical householder application needs each of these, correctly scaled and labelled:

  • A location plan at 1:1250 with the application site edged in red and any other land you control edged in blue
  • A block or site plan at 1:500 showing the property, its boundaries and the position of the works
  • Existing floor plans and elevations at 1:100 or 1:50, showing the house before any change
  • Proposed floor plans and elevations at the same scale, with a scale bar and north point
  • A design and access statement where the Royal Borough of Greenwich requires one — larger schemes and most work in a conservation area
  • Confirmation of any Article 4 direction on the street — Greenwich operates several, which can change what is needed

Greenwich planning decisions — live from council data

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. A complete, correctly scaled pack that answers those concerns on the elevations is validated faster and refused less often than one that leaves them for the officer to raise.

Source: MHCLG planning application statistics (householder decisions, rolling year). Compare every borough on our London approval-rate league table.

87%householder applications approved in Greenwich
87%national average — Greenwich is in line with the national average

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Why Greenwich applications get returned or refused

Two different things sink an application, and they happen at two different stages. First is validation: a missing block plan, an unscaled elevation, no red line, no north point — the Royal Borough of Greenwich returns the whole submission and the clock never starts. Getting the pack right at this stage is purely mechanical, and it is where a lot of self-submitted Greenwich applications lose weeks. We draw to the checklist so this never happens.

Second is the planning judgement itself, once the pack is valid. Protected Thames-side views shape what roof additions are acceptable on the borough's northern edge. Across Greenwich, Blackheath and Westcombe Park the recurring refusals are about scale, overlooking and how the proposal sits against its neighbours — all of which are settled on the drawings. We draw the scheme to answer them before submission rather than after a refusal.

Scaled architect drawings for a Greenwich planning application

Applications we draw across Greenwich

The application pack is the same discipline whatever the project. A few of the Greenwich neighbourhoods and property types we prepare drawings for most often:

Greenwich

Planning drawings for Greenwich's Georgian and early-Victorian terraces inside the West Greenwich conservation area — scaled, validation-ready and drawn to the Royal Borough of Greenwich's guidance.

Blackheath

Planning drawings for Blackheath's villas and terraces around the Cator Estate and Blackheath Park — scaled, validation-ready and drawn to the Royal Borough of Greenwich's guidance.

Westcombe Park

Planning drawings for Westcombe Park's Edwardian and Victorian villas climbing the hill above the river — scaled, validation-ready and drawn to the Royal Borough of Greenwich's guidance.

Charlton

Planning drawings for Charlton's the older cottages and interwar streets around Charlton Village — scaled, validation-ready and drawn to the Royal Borough of Greenwich's guidance.

Eltham

Planning drawings for Eltham's interwar semis including the Well Hall Progress Estate — scaled, validation-ready and drawn to the Royal Borough of Greenwich's guidance.

Woolwich

Planning drawings for Woolwich's denser Victorian terraces amid riverside regeneration — scaled, validation-ready and drawn to the Royal Borough of Greenwich's guidance.

Which application do I make in Greenwich?

The route decides what the Royal Borough of Greenwich needs and how long it takes. This is how the common Greenwich routes compare.

RouteWhen it appliesCore drawingsTypical decision
Householder applicationExtensions and alterations to a single houseLocation, block, existing & proposed plans and elevationsAbout 8 weeks
Full applicationFlats, new units, changes of useAs householder plus site plan and often a section8–13 weeks
Lawful development certificateConfirming a scheme is permitted developmentExisting & proposed plans and elevations to prove PD limitsAbout 8 weeks
Prior approvalLarger single-storey rear extensionsPlans and elevations plus neighbour notificationAbout 6 weeks

In a conservation area such as West Greenwich and Blackheath Park, householder permitted-development rights are often restricted, so a full application and heritage detail may be required.

Four steps to a validated Greenwich application

A fixed process built around how the Royal Borough of Greenwich validates and decides — most drawing sets are submission-ready within seven days of survey.

  1. 1

    Free approval check

    Send us your Greenwich postcode and what you want to build. We confirm your conservation and Article 4 status, tell you which application route applies, and score your odds against live the Royal Borough of Greenwich decisions.

  2. 2

    Measured survey

    We measure the property and plot so the existing plans and elevations are accurate to the millimetre — the base every proposed drawing and every officer judgement is built on.

  3. 3

    Drawing set & statement

    Chartered designers produce the full validation pack — location and block plans, existing and proposed plans, elevations, any section and a design and access statement — drawn to the Royal Borough of Greenwich's checklist.

  4. 4

    Submission & follow-through

    We lodge the application on the Planning Portal, manage validation and case-officer queries, and revise the drawings free until the Royal Borough of Greenwich issues its decision.

Frequently asked questions

What drawings do I need for a planning application in Greenwich?

the Royal Borough of Greenwich validates a householder application against a set list: a location plan at 1:1250 with a red-line boundary, a block plan at 1:500, and existing and proposed floor plans and elevations at 1:100 or 1:50, each with a scale bar and north point. Larger schemes and most conservation-area work also need a design and access statement. If any of these is missing or unscaled the application is returned invalid before it is assessed.

Why do Greenwich planning applications get returned as invalid?

Almost always because the drawing pack is incomplete or wrongly scaled — a missing block plan, an elevation with no scale, no red line on the location plan, no north point. the Royal Borough of Greenwich checks the pack against its validation list before an officer ever assesses the scheme, so these purely technical gaps cost weeks. Drawing to the checklist from the outset is the simplest way to avoid a return.

Can you submit the Greenwich planning application for me?

Yes. We prepare the full drawing set, lodge it on the Planning Portal on your behalf, pay the the Royal Borough of Greenwich fee where you prefer us to, and then manage validation and case-officer questions through to the decision. You get the reference number and updates without dealing with the portal or the council yourself.

How long does the Royal Borough of Greenwich take to decide an application?

A householder application is a statutory eight weeks from validation, and a full application eight to thirteen weeks depending on scale. The date that matters is validation, not submission — an invalid pack never starts the clock. Because we draw to the Royal Borough of Greenwich's checklist the application validates quickly, so the statutory period begins without the delay a returned pack causes.

Do I need planning drawings if my project is permitted development in Greenwich?

You do not strictly need a planning application, but scaled existing and proposed drawings are still worth having: a lawful development certificate from the Royal Borough of Greenwich proves the scheme is permitted development, which lenders and buyers increasingly ask for, and your builder needs the drawings to price and build. In a conservation area such as West Greenwich and Blackheath Park, permitted-development rights are often removed, so a full application may be needed after all — we confirm which before you commit.

How much do planning application drawings in Greenwich cost?

We price each Greenwich job individually — the scope of the survey and the size of the drawing set vary from a simple rear extension to a whole-house scheme — and send a fixed, no-obligation quote within one working day. It covers the full validation pack with free revisions until the Royal Borough of Greenwich decides. The the Royal Borough of Greenwich application fee is separate and paid to the council. Call 020 7864 7245 to start.

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