Side-return infill drawings for Bearsted & Downswood terraces — the glazed extension that fills the redundant side alley and opens up the kitchen, drawn to Maidstone Borough Council's guidance, delivered in days and revised free until your decision, with a free approval-odds check first.
Maidstone Borough Council granted 91% of the householder planning decisions it made in its latest published year — 4 points above the 87% England-wide householder average. Bearsted & Downswood contains Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension conservation areas (Bearsted Extension designated 2000), so materials, fenestration and roof form are assessed against the appraisal, which is where a policy-literate drawing pack earns its keep. Its dominant interwar (1918–1939) 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. Bearsted & Downswood carries at least one Article 4 direction, and conservation areas including Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension and Bearsted Extension remove those rights outright, so we confirm your exact address before a line is drawn. A validated householder application in Bearsted & Downswood is determined against an 8-week statutory target.
Bearsted Extension (conservation area designated in 2000), Bearsted Extension (conservation area designated in 2025), Bearsted Extension (conservation area designated in 2025), Bearsted Extension (conservation area designated in 2025), Bearsted, Holy Cross Church (conservation area designated in 1992), Bearsted, Village Green (conservation area designated in 1974), Bearsted (civil parish within Bearsted & Downswood) and Downswood (civil parish within Bearsted & Downswood) — these are the Bearsted & Downswood pockets our drawings cover most. Heritage designations here include Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension, Bearsted, Holy Cross Church and Bearsted, Village Green. Maidstone Borough Council weighs each proposal against the adopted Maidstone local plan and Maidstone Borough Council's design guidance for householder work, where the 4,190 homes here are 35% 1965-1972, 17% 1983-1992, 10% 1930-1939, 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 trussed-rafter roofs typical of 1980s building, over late-1960s and early-1970s houses (35% of 4,190 homes), 1980s estate houses (17%) and 1930s semi-detached and detached houses (10%).
What is permitted in Bearsted & Downswood turns on designation first, so that is where we start: Bearsted Extension (conservation area designated in 2000), Bearsted Extension (conservation area designated in 2025), Bearsted Extension (conservation area designated in 2025), Bearsted Extension (conservation area designated in 2025), Bearsted, Holy Cross Church (conservation area designated in 1992) and Bearsted, Village Green (conservation area designated in 1974). Inside those boundaries permitted development is curtailed and Maidstone 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, Bearsted & Downswood takes in Bearsted and Downswood. Maidstone Borough Council has 84 recorded Article 4 directions — check the address before assuming PD applies in Bearsted & Downswood.
On stock, Bearsted & Downswood is late-1960s and early-1970s houses (35% of 4,190 homes), 1980s estate houses (17%) and 1930s semi-detached and detached houses (10%) — which is why shallow-pitched roofs and integral garages typical of that period's building and trussed-rafter roofs typical of 1980s building govern what a loft or rear projection can realistically be. Maidstone Borough Council decided 536 householder applications in the latest published year and granted 91%, with 81% issued inside the eight-week target. We draw to that record rather than to a national average.
The full build-period split for Bearsted & Downswood runs pre-1900 5% (230 homes), 1900-1918 1% (30 homes), 1919-1929 4% (180 homes), 1930-1939 10% (410 homes), 1945-1954 5% (210 homes), 1955-1964 6% (270 homes), 1965-1972 35% (1,480 homes), 1973-1982 5% (230 homes), 1983-1992 17% (710 homes), 1993-1999 3% (140 homes) and 2000-2008 4% (160 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.
Maidstone Borough Council also decides for Barming Heath & Teston, Boxley Downs, Coxheath & Farleigh, High Street, Leeds & Langley, Loose & Linton, Marden & Yalding and Staplehurst, so a decision in Bearsted & Downswood 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 29 Albion Place, 62 Earl Street, 66 Earl Street and 70-72 King Street,. 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 Bearsted & Downswood and Maidstone 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 | Bearsted & Downswood |
|---|---|
| Dwellings recorded | 4,190 |
| Built pre-1900 | 230 (5%) |
| Built 1900-1918 | 30 (1%) |
| Built 1919-1929 | 180 (4%) |
| Built 1930-1939 | 410 (10%) |
| Built 1945-1954 | 210 (5%) |
| Built 1955-1964 | 270 (6%) |
| Built 1965-1972 | 1,480 (35%) |
| Built 1973-1982 | 230 (5%) |
| Built 1983-1992 | 710 (17%) |
| Built 1993-1999 | 140 (3%) |
| Built 2000-2008 | 160 (4%) |
| Built before 1919 | 6% |
| Built 1919–1939 | 14% |
| Built 1945–2008 | 76% |
| Conservation areas in Bearsted & Downswood | 6 (Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension…) |
| Conservation areas district-wide | 53 |
| Article 4 directions recorded | 84 |
| Householder applications decided | 536 |
| Householder applications granted | 91% |
| Decided within 8 weeks | 81% |
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 Maidstone Borough Council's own, from MHCLG live table PS2 for the year to 31 March 2026.
The side return is the classic terrace fix, and Bearsted & Downswood has the stock for it — the borough is built largely from late-1960s and early-1970s houses (35% of 4,190 homes), 1980s estate houses (17%) and 1930s semi-detached and detached houses (10%), and the Victorian and Edwardian versions almost all have an L-shaped back addition with a wasted alley beside it. Fill that alley and the dark galley kitchen becomes a bright, square room the full width of the house. Maidstone Borough Council judges the infill against the adopted Maidstone local plan and Maidstone Borough Council's design guidance for householder work, and because it runs along the party boundary, the neighbour relationship is read before the design.
That boundary is where the drawings earn their keep. We set the infill wall on or up to the line, keep the roof — usually a glazed lantern or a shallow pitch tying into the existing back-addition slope — below the neighbour's first-floor windows, and detail the rainwater and party-wall junction so the build is watertight and the Party Wall Act is satisfied. Bearsted & Downswood contains Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension conservation areas (Bearsted Extension designated 2000), so materials, fenestration and roof form are assessed against the appraisal, so we resolve it on the section rather than leave it to the case officer.
Many of Bearsted & Downswood's terraces sit in conservation areas — Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension, Bearsted, Holy Cross Church and Bearsted, Village Green among them — where a side extension is no longer permitted development. Maidstone Borough Council has 84 recorded Article 4 directions — check the address before assuming PD applies in Bearsted & Downswood. We confirm the designation before a line is drawn.
Some single-storey side returns in Bearsted & Downswood are permitted development, but the width and boundary make an application more likely than for a straight rear extension. You will normally need to apply to Maidstone Borough Council if any of these apply:
We draw the infill wall on the boundary, the glazed roof below the neighbour's windows and the party-wall junction on the page — the details Maidstone Borough Council's officers and your neighbour both check — and submit a validation-complete pack, whether that is a lawful development certificate or a full householder application.
Below is Maidstone Borough Council's real householder decision record, drawn from official planning statistics and refreshed as new data lands. Maidstone Borough Council granted 91% of its householder applications in the year to 31 March 2026, and Bearsted Extension shapes what is approved here. Side returns hinge on width, roof glazing and the party boundary, so a pack that resolves those details 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 Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension and Bearsted Extension, the approved side return is a single-storey infill roofed with a glazed lantern or roof light to pull daylight deep into the plan, its flank wall built on the boundary and finished to match the host brick. On the borough's late-1960s and early-1970s houses (35% of 4,190 homes), this is frequently the single biggest gain in usable ground-floor space, and where it stays within the width and height limits it can proceed under permitted development or a lawful development certificate.
The 4,190 homes here are 35% 1965-1972, 17% 1983-1992, 10% 1930-1939, which is what sets the realistic roof and rear-projection options. We keep the glazed roof below the neighbour's cill line, set the gutter and the party-wall flashing so water and maintenance are designed in, and — where owners want the full open-plan room — pair the infill with a rear extension as a single wraparound application. That way Maidstone Borough Council sees one coherent scheme rather than two overlapping ones.
We draw side-return infills on every terraced street in the borough. A few of the neighbourhoods where Bearsted & Downswood side returns come up most often:
Side return extension drawings for Bearsted Extension's conservation area designated in 2000 — width-checked, party-wall detailed and drawn to Maidstone Borough Council's guidance.
Side return extension drawings for Bearsted Extension's conservation area designated in 2025 — width-checked, party-wall detailed and drawn to Maidstone Borough Council's guidance.
Side return extension drawings for Bearsted Extension's conservation area designated in 2025 — width-checked, party-wall detailed and drawn to Maidstone Borough Council's guidance.
Side return extension drawings for Bearsted Extension's conservation area designated in 2025 — width-checked, party-wall detailed and drawn to Maidstone Borough Council's guidance.
Side return extension drawings for Bearsted, Holy Cross Church's conservation area designated in 1992 — width-checked, party-wall detailed and drawn to Maidstone Borough Council's guidance.
Side return extension drawings for Bearsted, Village Green's conservation area designated in 1974 — width-checked, party-wall detailed and drawn to Maidstone Borough Council's guidance.
Whether a side return in Bearsted & Downswood needs permission comes down to width, storeys and whether the street is designated. This is how the cases compare.
| Side return type | Permitted development? | What it gains | What Maidstone Borough Council checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-storey infill, within limits | Often yes, if under half the house width | Full-width kitchen-diner | Width, 4m height, roof glazing |
| Single-storey, over half width | No — full application | Wider room, more light | Boundary treatment, neighbour amenity |
| Two-storey side return | No — full application | Room above as well as below | Bulk, overlooking, terrace rhythm |
| Wraparound (side + rear) | No — full application | L-shaped open-plan ground floor | Combined footprint, garden retained |
In conservation areas such as Bearsted Extension and Bearsted Extension, side extensions are not permitted development and always need a full application.
A fixed process built around how Maidstone Borough Council validates and decides side-return applications — most drawings are submission-ready within seven days of survey.
Send us your Bearsted & Downswood postcode and terrace type. We confirm your conservation and Article 4 status, whether the infill stays within the side-extension width limit, and score your odds against live Maidstone Borough Council decisions.
We measure the side alley, the back-addition wall, floor and eaves levels and the neighbour's window heights — the numbers the width limit, roof pitch and party-wall detailing depend on.
Chartered designers develop the infill and its glazed roof to your brief, drawn inside the permitted-development limits or to Maidstone Borough Council's extension guidance, with the boundary and party-wall junction detailed.
We submit the certificate or application, manage validation and case-officer queries, and revise the drawings free until Maidstone Borough Council issues its decision.
Sometimes not. A single-storey side-return infill can be permitted development if it is no wider than half the original house, no higher than 4 metres, and the property is not on designated land. In Bearsted & Downswood you will need a full application to Maidstone Borough Council for anything wider or taller, for a two-storey side return, and for any side extension in a conservation area such as Bearsted Extension and Bearsted Extension, where those rights are removed.
It is an infill that fills the narrow open alley running alongside the rear back-addition of a Victorian or Edwardian terrace — the strip of ground that is usually too small to use. Building over it squares off the ground floor, so a cramped galley kitchen becomes a full-width room. Bearsted & Downswood's period terraces are ideally suited to it, which is why the side return is one of the borough's most common extensions. Maidstone Borough Council is the decision-maker.
Almost always. A side return is built on or up to the boundary with your neighbour, so the Party Wall etc. Act applies and you must serve notice before work starts — this is entirely separate from Maidstone Borough Council's planning decision. We detail the party-wall junction on the drawings and flag the notice early so a surveyor can be appointed without delaying the build. This applies to your Bearsted & Downswood address specifically.
Yes, and it is common — the combined L-shape is a wraparound extension. Once the side infill joins a rear projection beyond the permitted-development depth, the whole thing needs a full householder application to Maidstone Borough Council rather than qualifying as permitted development. We draw it as one coherent scheme so the council assesses a single footprint, which reads more clearly than two overlapping proposals. This applies to your Bearsted & Downswood address specifically.
A householder planning application in Bearsted & Downswood runs to a statutory eight-week target, and a lawful development certificate to eight weeks as well, though an incomplete pack can stall at validation. Because a side return involves the boundary and roof glazing, a complete, well-detailed submission matters — we prepare it validation-complete and manage officer queries to keep the decision on track. Maidstone Borough Council is the decision-maker.
We price each Bearsted & Downswood side return individually, because alley width and roof form vary house to house, and send a fixed, no-obligation quote within one working day. It covers the full drawing pack with free revisions until Maidstone Borough Council approves, and we confirm at the outset whether your infill is permitted development or needs an application. Call 020 7864 7245 to start.
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