Planning application drawings in Waverley

Waverley planning decisions and design rules

Waverley Borough Council granted 93% of the householder planning decisions it made in its latest published year — 6 points above the 87% England-wide householder average. Waverley contains BLACKHEATH WONERSH, BOWLHEAD GREEN THURSLEY, BRAMLEY conservation areas (BLACKHEATH WONERSH designated 1983), 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 interwar (1918–1939) 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. Waverley carries at least one Article 4 direction, and conservation areas including BLACKHEATH WONERSH, BOWLHEAD GREEN THURSLEY and BRAMLEY remove those rights outright, so we confirm your exact address before a line is drawn. A validated householder application in Waverley is determined against an 8-week statutory target.

BLACKHEATH WONERSH (conservation area designated in 1983), BOWLHEAD GREEN THURSLEY (conservation area designated in 1983), BRAMLEY (conservation area designated in 1974), Birtley Green (conservation area designated in 1989), CRANLEIGH (conservation area designated in 1973), CROWNPITS GODALMING (conservation area designated in 1984), Chiddingfold (conservation area designated in 2007), ELSTEAD (conservation area designated in 1974), Bramley & Wonersh (ward of Waverley), Chiddingfold (ward of Waverley), Cranleigh West (ward of Waverley), Elstead & Peper Harow (ward of Waverley), Ewhurst & Ellens Green (ward of Waverley), Farnham Bourne (ward of Waverley), Farnham Castle (ward of Waverley) and Farnham Moor Park (ward of Waverley) — these are the Waverley pockets our drawings cover most. Heritage designations here include BLACKHEATH WONERSH, BOWLHEAD GREEN THURSLEY, BRAMLEY, Birtley Green Conservation Area, CRANLEIGH, CROWNPITS GODALMING, Chiddingfold Conservation Area and ELSTEAD. Waverley Borough Council weighs each proposal against Waverley Borough Council's adopted local plan and its householder design guidance, where the 32,300 homes here are 19% pre-1900, 5% 1983-1992, 5% 1930-1939, 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 trussed-rafter roofs typical of 1980s building, over Victorian and earlier houses (19% of 32,300 homes), 1980s estate houses (5%) and 1930s semi-detached and detached houses (5%).

Why a Waverley scheme is judged on Waverley terms

What is permitted in Waverley turns on designation first, so that is where we start: BLACKHEATH WONERSH (conservation area designated in 1983), BOWLHEAD GREEN THURSLEY (conservation area designated in 1983), BRAMLEY (conservation area designated in 1974), Birtley Green (conservation area designated in 1989), CRANLEIGH (conservation area designated in 1973), CROWNPITS GODALMING (conservation area designated in 1984), Chiddingfold (conservation area designated in 2007) and ELSTEAD (conservation area designated in 1974). Inside those boundaries permitted development is curtailed and Waverley 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, Waverley takes in Bramley & Wonersh, Chiddingfold, Cranleigh West, Elstead & Peper Harow, Ewhurst & Ellens Green, Farnham Bourne, Farnham Castle and Farnham Moor Park. Waverley Borough Council has 26 recorded Article 4 directions, removing permitted development for rear and side extensions and other roof alterations, including rooflights — check the address before assuming PD applies in the district.

On stock, Waverley is Victorian and earlier houses (19% of 32,300 homes), 1980s estate houses (5%) and 1930s semi-detached and detached houses (5%) — which is why steeply pitched slate roofs, valley gutters and party parapets typical of pre-1900 building and trussed-rafter roofs typical of 1980s building govern what a loft or rear projection can realistically be. Waverley Borough Council decided 884 householder applications in the latest published year and granted 93%, with 66% issued inside the eight-week target. We draw to that record rather than to a national average.

The full build-period split for Waverley runs pre-1900 3% (190 homes), 1900-1918 0% (30 homes), 1919-1929 0% (10 homes), 1930-1939 6% (350 homes), 1945-1954 3% (170 homes), 1955-1964 30% (1,850 homes), 1965-1972 33% (1,990 homes), 1973-1982 4% (260 homes), 1983-1992 5% (310 homes), 1993-1999 4% (220 homes) and 2000-2008 3% (170 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.

Waverley Borough Council also decides for Bramley & Wonersh, Chiddingfold, Cranleigh West, Elstead & Peper Harow, Ewhurst & Ellens Green, Farnham Bourne, Farnham Castle and Farnham Moor Park, so a decision in Waverley 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 Beacon Hill Commercial Area (2022), Buildings Wood, Horsham Road, Ewhurst (1961), Farnham Trading Estate, Water Lane, Farnham (1965) and Godalming Station Commercial Area (2022). 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.

What goes in a Waverley planning application

Whatever you are building, Waverley Borough Council 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. Waverley Borough Council assesses each proposal against Waverley Borough Council's adopted local plan and its householder 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 Waverley's stock, which runs to Victorian and earlier houses (19% of 32,300 homes), 1980s estate houses (5%) and 1930s semi-detached and detached houses (5%), the same scheme is drawn differently to answer the concerns officers raise here. Waverley contains BLACKHEATH WONERSH, BOWLHEAD GREEN THURSLEY, BRAMLEY conservation areas (BLACKHEATH WONERSH designated 1983), so materials, fenestration and roof form are assessed against the appraisal, so the pack is built to pre-empt exactly that.

Where the property sits in a conservation area — BLACKHEATH WONERSH, BOWLHEAD GREEN THURSLEY, BRAMLEY, Birtley Green Conservation Area, CRANLEIGH, CROWNPITS GODALMING, Chiddingfold Conservation Area and ELSTEAD among Waverley's — validation is stricter still, often demanding heritage detail and sometimes additional plans. Waverley Borough Council has 26 recorded Article 4 directions, removing permitted development for rear and side extensions and other roof alterations, including rooflights — check the address before assuming PD applies in the district. We confirm the designation before drawing so the pack meets the higher bar first time.