Back-of-house extension drawings for Medway homes — the glazed kitchen-diner across the rear, drawn to Medway Council's depth and daylight limits, delivered in days and revised free until your decision, with a free approval-odds check first.
Medway Council granted 96% of the householder planning decisions it made in its latest published year — 9 points above the 87% England-wide householder average. Medway contains Cliffe, Frindsbury and Manor Farm, Lower Rainham conservation areas (Cliffe designated 1973), so materials, fenestration and roof form are assessed against the appraisal, which is where a policy-literate drawing pack earns its keep. Its dominant 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. Medway carries at least one Article 4 direction, and conservation areas including Cliffe, Frindsbury and Manor Farm and Lower Rainham remove those rights outright, so we confirm your exact address before a line is drawn. A validated householder application in Medway is determined against an 8-week statutory target.
Cliffe (conservation area designated in 1973), Frindsbury and Manor Farm (conservation area designated in 1996), Lower Rainham (conservation area designated in 1989), Lower Twydall (conservation area designated in 1984), Maidstone Road, Chatham (conservation area designated in 2005), Meresborough (conservation area designated in 1989), Moor Street (conservation area designated in 1989), New Road, Chatham (conservation area designated in 1972), All Saints (ward of Medway), Fort Pitt (ward of Medway), Rainham North (ward of Medway), Rainham South East (ward of Medway) and Strood Rural (ward of Medway) — these are the Medway pockets our drawings cover most. Heritage designations here include Cliffe, Frindsbury and Manor Farm, Lower Rainham, Lower Twydall, Maidstone Road, Chatham, Meresborough, Moor Street and New Road, Chatham. Medway Council weighs each proposal against Medway Council's development plan and the design policies it applies to householder applications, where the 24,730 homes here are 18% 1965-1972, 15% 1973-1982, 10% 1955-1964, which is what sets the realistic roof and rear-projection options. On roofs the borough is shallow-pitched roofs and integral garages typical of that period's building and shallow trussed roofs typical of 1970s building, over late-1960s and early-1970s houses (18% of 24,730 homes), 1970s and early-1980s houses (15%) and late-1950s and early-1960s houses (10%).
What is permitted in Medway turns on designation first, so that is where we start: Cliffe (conservation area designated in 1973), Frindsbury and Manor Farm (conservation area designated in 1996), Lower Rainham (conservation area designated in 1989), Lower Twydall (conservation area designated in 1984), Maidstone Road, Chatham (conservation area designated in 2005), Meresborough (conservation area designated in 1989), Moor Street (conservation area designated in 1989) and New Road, Chatham (conservation area designated in 1972). Inside those boundaries permitted development is curtailed and Medway 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, Medway takes in All Saints, Fort Pitt, Rainham North, Rainham South East and Strood Rural. Medway Council has 47 recorded Article 4 directions — check the address before assuming PD applies in the district.
On stock, Medway is late-1960s and early-1970s houses (18% of 24,730 homes), 1970s and early-1980s houses (15%) and late-1950s and early-1960s houses (10%) — which is why shallow-pitched roofs and integral garages typical of that period's building and shallow trussed roofs typical of 1970s building govern what a loft or rear projection can realistically be. Medway Council decided 540 householder applications in the latest published year and granted 96%, with 94% issued inside the eight-week target. We draw to that record rather than to a national average.
The full build-period split for Medway 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.
Medway Council also decides for All Saints, Fort Pitt, Rainham North, Rainham South East and Strood Rural, so a decision in Medway 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 Brompton Lines(1), Brompton Lines(2), Chatham Central & Brompton and Fort Pitt. 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 Medway and Medway Council. These are the numbers that decide what is realistic on your street, so we work from them rather than from national averages.
| Measure | Medway |
|---|---|
| Dwellings recorded | 24,730 |
| Built pre-1900 | 190 (3%) |
| Built 1900-1918 | 30 (0%) |
| Built 1919-1929 | 10 (0%) |
| Built 1930-1939 | 350 (6%) |
| Built 1945-1954 | 170 (3%) |
| Built 1955-1964 | 1,850 (30%) |
| Built 1965-1972 | 1,990 (33%) |
| Built 1973-1982 | 260 (4%) |
| Built 1983-1992 | 310 (5%) |
| Built 1993-1999 | 220 (4%) |
| Built 2000-2008 | 170 (3%) |
| Built before 1919 | 13% |
| Built 1919–1939 | 11% |
| Built 1945–2008 | 66% |
| Conservation areas in Medway | 8 (Cliffe, Frindsbury and Manor Farm…) |
| Conservation areas district-wide | 24 |
| Article 4 directions recorded | 47 |
| Householder applications decided | 540 |
| Householder applications granted | 96% |
| Decided within 8 weeks | 94% |
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 Medway Council's own, from MHCLG live table PS2 for the year to 31 March 2026.
The rear extension is the workhorse of Medway home improvement — it is how a dark back kitchen becomes an open family room facing the garden. Because the borough is built largely from late-1960s and early-1970s houses (18% of 24,730 homes), 1970s and early-1980s houses (15%) and late-1950s and early-1960s houses (10%), most back walls sit close to a neighbour on at least one side, and that proximity, not the design, is what Medway Council scrutinises. The council reads the proposal against Medway Council's development plan and the design policies it applies to householder applications, and the first line an officer draws is the 45-degree splay from the neighbour's nearest window.
So the drawings live or die on geometry. We set the depth against the exact permitted-development figure, hold the eaves and the flat-roof or lantern build-up under the 4-metre height ceiling, and show the projection tested against both the 45-degree plan angle and the 25-degree section angle to the neighbouring windows. Medway contains Cliffe, Frindsbury and Manor Farm, Lower Rainham conservation areas (Cliffe designated 1973), so materials, fenestration and roof form are assessed against the appraisal, so the rear elevation is composed around it rather than corrected after an objection.
Where the property sits in a conservation area — Cliffe, Frindsbury and Manor Farm, Lower Rainham, Lower Twydall, Maidstone Road, Chatham, Meresborough, Moor Street and New Road, Chatham among Medway's — the larger-home extension route is switched off and even a modest rear addition needs consent. Medway Council has 47 recorded Article 4 directions — check the address before assuming PD applies in the district. We confirm the designation before the survey.
Many single-storey rear extensions in Medway are permitted development and need no application. You will normally need to apply to Medway Council, or use the larger-home prior-approval route, if any of these apply:
We draw the depth, the roof build-up and the daylight splays to each neighbour on the page — the tests Medway Council's officers apply first — and submit a validation-complete pack, whether that is a lawful development certificate, a larger-home prior-approval notice or a full householder application.
Below is Medway Council's real householder decision record, taken from official planning statistics and refreshed as new data lands. Medway Council granted 96% of 540 householder decisions in the year to 31 March 2026, 94% of them inside eight weeks. Rear extensions turn most often on neighbour daylight and depth, so a drawing pack that proves those tests upfront is decided faster and refused less often than a DIY submission.
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 Cliffe, Frindsbury and Manor Farm and Lower Rainham, the approved rear extension is typically a single-storey glazed box within the depth limit, roofed either flat with a lantern or in a shallow mono-pitch, and finished in brick or render to match the host wall. On the borough's late-1960s and early-1970s houses (18% of 24,730 homes), keeping the projection to the permitted-development figure often avoids an application entirely; where owners want the full 6 metres, the larger-home route succeeds when the neighbour-consultation period passes without a sustained objection.
The 24,730 homes here are 18% 1965-1972, 15% 1973-1982, 10% 1955-1964, which is what sets the realistic roof and rear-projection options. We keep the extension inside the daylight splays, set any glazed roof below the first-floor cill, and retain the garden depth Medway Council expects — so the back elevation answers the amenity case before a neighbour can lodge one. Two-storey rear extensions we draw with the 7-metre boundary gap and privacy screening resolved on the plan.
We draw rear extensions on every street in the borough. A few of the neighbourhoods where Medway back-of-house projects come up most often:
Rear extension drawings for Cliffe's conservation area designated in 1973 — depth-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to Medway Council's guidance.
Rear extension drawings for Frindsbury and Manor Farm's conservation area designated in 1996 — depth-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to Medway Council's guidance.
Rear extension drawings for Lower Rainham's conservation area designated in 1989 — depth-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to Medway Council's guidance.
Rear extension drawings for Lower Twydall's conservation area designated in 1984 — depth-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to Medway Council's guidance.
Rear extension drawings for Maidstone Road, Chatham's conservation area designated in 2005 — depth-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to Medway Council's guidance.
Rear extension drawings for Meresborough's conservation area designated in 1989 — depth-checked, daylight-tested and drawn to Medway Council's guidance.
How far you can extend at the back in Medway depends on your house type and the route you take. This is how the options compare.
| Route | Depth allowed | Consent needed | What Medway Council checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard permitted development | 3m terrace/semi · 4m detached | Lawful development certificate (optional) | Depth, 4m height, materials |
| Larger-home prior approval | 6m terrace/semi · 8m detached | Prior-approval notice + neighbour consultation | Neighbour objections on amenity |
| Full householder application | Beyond the above, or two-storey | Full planning permission | Daylight (45°/25°), bulk, garden retained |
| Conservation area | Case by case | Full planning permission | Character, roof form, boundary treatment |
The larger-home route is switched off on designated land — conservation areas such as Cliffe and Frindsbury and Manor Farm and Article 4 streets need a full application.
A fixed process built around how Medway Council validates and decides rear-extension applications — most drawings are submission-ready within seven days of survey.
Send us your Medway postcode and house type. We confirm your conservation and Article 4 status, how much rear-extension depth you have under permitted development, and score your odds against live Medway Council decisions.
We measure the original rear wall, floor and eaves levels, side and rear boundary distances and the neighbours' window positions — the numbers the depth limit and daylight splays depend on.
Chartered designers develop the single or two-storey rear extension to your brief, drawn inside the permitted-development limits or to Medway Council's extension design guidance, with the daylight angles shown.
We submit the certificate, prior-approval notice or application, handle validation and case-officer queries, and revise the drawings free until Medway Council issues its decision.
Often not. A single-storey rear extension up to 3 metres deep on a terrace or semi, or 4 metres on a detached house, and no higher than 4 metres, is usually permitted development in Medway. You will need to involve Medway Council for anything deeper via the larger-home route, for two-storey rear extensions, and for any rear extension in a conservation area such as Cliffe and Frindsbury and Manor Farm, where those permitted-development rights fall away.
The larger-home extension scheme lets a single-storey rear extension reach 6 metres on a terrace or semi, or 8 metres on a detached house — double the standard allowance. It is not automatic: you submit a prior-approval notification to Medway Council, neighbours are consulted, and if one objects on amenity grounds the council rules on it. It also does not apply on designated land such as Medway's conservation areas.
It is the daylight test Medway Council applies to protect neighbours. Drawn on plan, a line at 45 degrees from the midpoint of the neighbour's nearest ground-floor window should not be crossed by your extension; a companion 25-degree line is checked in section. If the projection breaches it, the extension is likely to be shortened or refused, so we test and prove it on the drawings before submission.
A two-storey rear extension almost always needs a full householder application to Medway Council, as it sits outside permitted development on most homes. The council checks that it stays at least 7 metres from the rear boundary, does not overbear the neighbours and avoids new overlooking. We resolve the boundary gap, privacy and daylight on the plans so the application is decided on its merits.
Frequently, yes. If the rear extension involves work to a shared wall, building up to the boundary, or excavating foundations near a neighbour's structure, the Party Wall etc. Act applies and you must serve notice — this is separate from Medway Council's planning decision. We flag it early and can prepare the drawings a party-wall surveyor needs alongside the planning set.
We price each Medway rear extension on its own footprint and send a fixed, no-obligation quote within one working day. It covers the full drawing pack with free revisions until Medway Council approves, and we confirm at the outset whether your extension is permitted development, needs prior approval, or a full application. Call 020 7864 7245 to begin.
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