Side-return infill drawings for Fareham terraces — the glazed extension that fills the redundant side alley and opens up the kitchen, drawn to Fareham Borough Council's guidance, delivered in days and revised free until your decision, with a free approval-odds check first.
Fareham Borough Council granted 99% of the householder planning decisions it made in its latest published year — 12 points above the 87% England-wide householder average. Fareham contains Cams Hall, Catisfield, Fareham High Street conservation areas (Cams Hall designated 1982), 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.
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 Fareham Borough Council needs a full application. Fareham carries at least one Article 4 direction, and conservation areas including Cams Hall, Catisfield and Fareham High Street remove those rights outright, so we confirm your exact address before a line is drawn. A validated householder application in Fareham is determined against an 8-week statutory target.
Cams Hall (conservation area designated in 1982), Catisfield (conservation area designated in 1994), Fareham High Street (conservation area designated in 1969), Hook (conservation area designated in 1974), Osborn Road (conservation area designated in 1979), Sarisbury Green (conservation area designated in 1994), Swanwick Shore (conservation area designated in 1994), Titchfield (conservation area designated in 1969), Fareham Town (ward of Fareham), Hook-with-Warsash (ward of Fareham), Sarisbury & Whiteley (ward of Fareham), Titchfield (ward of Fareham) and Wallington & Downend (ward of Fareham) — these are the Fareham pockets our drawings cover most. Heritage designations here include Cams Hall, Catisfield, Fareham High Street, Hook, Osborn Road, Sarisbury Green, Swanwick Shore and Titchfield. Fareham Borough Council weighs each proposal against the adopted Fareham local plan and Fareham Borough Council's design guidance for householder work, where the 15,840 homes here are 11% 1993-1999, 8% 1983-1992, 8% 1965-1972, which is what sets the realistic roof and rear-projection options. On roofs the borough is trussed-rafter roofs typical of 1990s building and trussed-rafter roofs typical of 1980s building, over 1990s estate houses (11% of 15,840 homes), 1980s estate houses (8%) and late-1960s and early-1970s houses (8%).
Heritage designation is the single biggest variable in Fareham, and it is address-specific: Cams Hall (conservation area designated in 1982), Catisfield (conservation area designated in 1994), Fareham High Street (conservation area designated in 1969), Hook (conservation area designated in 1974), Osborn Road (conservation area designated in 1979), Sarisbury Green (conservation area designated in 1994), Swanwick Shore (conservation area designated in 1994) and Titchfield (conservation area designated in 1969). Inside those boundaries permitted development is curtailed and Fareham 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, Fareham takes in Fareham Town, Hook-with-Warsash, Sarisbury & Whiteley, Titchfield and Wallington & Downend. Fareham Borough Council has 19 recorded Article 4 directions — check the address before assuming PD applies in the district.
On stock, Fareham is 1990s estate houses (11% of 15,840 homes), 1980s estate houses (8%) and late-1960s and early-1970s houses (8%) — which is why trussed-rafter roofs typical of 1990s building and trussed-rafter roofs typical of 1980s building govern what a loft or rear projection can realistically be. Fareham Borough Council decided 394 householder applications in the latest published year and granted 99%, with 89% issued inside the eight-week target. We work from the council's own published record.
The full build-period split for Fareham 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.
Fareham Borough Council also decides for Fareham Town, Hook-with-Warsash, Sarisbury & Whiteley, Titchfield and Wallington & Downend, so a decision in Fareham 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 12-18 Thorney Close, Down End Farm, Hook and Hovercraft. 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 Fareham and Fareham 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 | Fareham |
|---|---|
| Dwellings recorded | 15,840 |
| 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 | 12% |
| Built 1919–1939 | 11% |
| Built 1945–2008 | 67% |
| Conservation areas in Fareham | 8 (Cams Hall, Catisfield…) |
| Conservation areas district-wide | 13 |
| Article 4 directions recorded | 19 |
| Householder applications decided | 394 |
| Householder applications granted | 99% |
| Decided within 8 weeks | 89% |
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 Fareham 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 Fareham has the stock for it — the borough is built largely from 1990s estate houses (11% of 15,840 homes), 1980s estate houses (8%) and late-1960s and early-1970s houses (8%), 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. Fareham Borough Council judges the infill against the adopted Fareham local plan and Fareham 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. Fareham contains Cams Hall, Catisfield, Fareham High Street conservation areas (Cams Hall designated 1982), 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 Fareham's terraces sit in conservation areas — Cams Hall, Catisfield, Fareham High Street, Hook, Osborn Road, Sarisbury Green, Swanwick Shore and Titchfield among them — where a side extension is no longer permitted development. Fareham Borough Council has 19 recorded Article 4 directions — check the address before assuming PD applies in the district. We confirm the designation before a line is drawn.
Some single-storey side returns in Fareham 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 Fareham 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 Fareham 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 Fareham Borough Council's real householder decision record, drawn from official planning statistics and refreshed as new data lands. Fareham Borough Council granted 99% of 394 householder decisions in the year to 31 March 2026, 89% of them inside eight weeks. 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 Cams Hall, Catisfield and Fareham High Street, 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 1990s estate houses (11% of 15,840 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 15,840 homes here are 11% 1993-1999, 8% 1983-1992, 8% 1965-1972, 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 Fareham 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 Fareham side returns come up most often:
Side return extension drawings for Cams Hall's conservation area designated in 1982 — width-checked, party-wall detailed and drawn to Fareham Borough Council's guidance.
Side return extension drawings for Catisfield's conservation area designated in 1994 — width-checked, party-wall detailed and drawn to Fareham Borough Council's guidance.
Side return extension drawings for Fareham High Street's conservation area designated in 1969 — width-checked, party-wall detailed and drawn to Fareham Borough Council's guidance.
Side return extension drawings for Hook's conservation area designated in 1974 — width-checked, party-wall detailed and drawn to Fareham Borough Council's guidance.
Side return extension drawings for Osborn Road's conservation area designated in 1979 — width-checked, party-wall detailed and drawn to Fareham Borough Council's guidance.
Side return extension drawings for Sarisbury Green's conservation area designated in 1994 — width-checked, party-wall detailed and drawn to Fareham Borough Council's guidance.
Whether a side return in Fareham 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 Fareham 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 Cams Hall and Catisfield, side extensions are not permitted development and always need a full application.
A fixed process built around how Fareham Borough Council validates and decides side-return applications — most drawings are submission-ready within seven days of survey.
Send us your Fareham 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 Fareham 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 Fareham 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 Fareham 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 Fareham you will need a full application to Fareham Borough Council for anything wider or taller, for a two-storey side return, and for any side extension in a conservation area such as Cams Hall and Catisfield, 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. Fareham's period terraces are ideally suited to it, which is why the side return is one of the borough's most common extensions. Fareham 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 Fareham 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.
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 Fareham 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.
A householder planning application in Fareham 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. Fareham Borough Council is the decision-maker.
We price each Fareham 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 Fareham 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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