Two-storey extension drawings for Bearsted & Downswood homes — bedroom above, living space below, drawn against the 3-metre projection and 7-metre boundary rules and to Maidstone Borough Council's design guidance, delivered in days and revised free until your decision.
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.
Adding at first floor changes the question the case officer asks. A single-storey extension is judged mostly on daylight and garden loss; a two-storey extension is judged on overlooking, bulk against the neighbouring roofline, and whether it reads as part of the house or bolted onto it. Bearsted & Downswood is largely late-1960s and early-1970s houses (35% of 4,190 homes), 1980s estate houses (17%) and 1930s semi-detached and detached houses (10%), and shallow-pitched roofs and integral garages typical of that period's building and trussed-rafter roofs typical of 1980s building set what a matching roof actually means here.
The permitted-development route exists but is narrow: 3 metres of rear projection, a 7-metre stand-off from the rear boundary, eaves and ridge no higher than the original, and side-facing upper windows obscure-glazed and non-opening below 1.7 metres above floor level. Most two-storey schemes fail one of those, usually the 7-metre boundary rule on a shorter garden, and go in as a full application instead. We establish which route applies before designing, because it changes the drawing set.
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. Maidstone Borough Council has 84 recorded Article 4 directions — check the address before assuming PD applies in Bearsted & Downswood.
Some two-storey rear extensions are permitted development. You will need a full application to Maidstone Borough Council if any of these apply:
We set the projection and boundary distance on the site plan, prove the roof-pitch match on the elevations, and specify obscure glazing on the side windows — the three things Maidstone Borough Council checks first — then submit a validation-complete pack.
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. Two-storey schemes attract more neighbour comment than any other householder work, so the overlooking and daylight case has to be made on the drawings.
Source: MHCLG planning application statistics (householder decisions, England, 1 April 2025 - 31 March 2026). Compare every borough on our London approval-rate league table.
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Across Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension and Bearsted Extension, the schemes that succeed set the first floor back from the ground floor, keep the ridge below the original, and treat the flank wall as blank or obscure-glazed. On late-1960s and early-1970s houses (35% of 4,190 homes), matching the eaves line matters more than matching the brick: an extension that carries the existing eaves through reads as original even in a different material.
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 draw the 45-degree daylight test from the neighbour's nearest habitable window, show the window positions in section, and set out the steel and foundation implications early — a two-storey extension changes the load path, so the structural design and the planning design have to be developed together rather than in sequence.
We draw two-storey extensions across Bearsted & Downswood. A few of the areas where they come up most often:
Two storey extension drawings for Bearsted Extension — conservation area designated in 2000 — dimensioned against the 3m and 7m limits and drawn to Maidstone Borough Council's guidance.
Two storey extension drawings for Bearsted Extension — conservation area designated in 2025 — dimensioned against the 3m and 7m limits and drawn to Maidstone Borough Council's guidance.
Two storey extension drawings for Bearsted Extension — conservation area designated in 2025 — dimensioned against the 3m and 7m limits and drawn to Maidstone Borough Council's guidance.
Two storey extension drawings for Bearsted Extension — conservation area designated in 2025 — dimensioned against the 3m and 7m limits and drawn to Maidstone Borough Council's guidance.
Two storey extension drawings for Bearsted, Holy Cross Church — conservation area designated in 1992 — dimensioned against the 3m and 7m limits and drawn to Maidstone Borough Council's guidance.
Two storey extension drawings for Bearsted, Village Green — conservation area designated in 1974 — dimensioned against the 3m and 7m limits and drawn to Maidstone Borough Council's guidance.
The first-floor limits are tighter than the ground-floor ones. This is how the common cases compare.
| Scheme | Permitted development? | Deciding limit | What Maidstone Borough Council checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two-storey rear, 3m projection, 7m+ to boundary | Often yes | 3m projection / 7m boundary | Roof match, side-window glazing |
| Two-storey rear, under 7m to boundary | No — full application | Rear-boundary distance | Overlooking, daylight, garden loss |
| Two-storey side extension | No — full application | Side elevation | Gap to boundary, street rhythm |
| Two-storey wraparound | No — full application | Combined footprint | Bulk, massing, neighbour amenity |
| Any two-storey on designated land | No — full application | Designation | Character and appearance |
Limits from the GPDO 2015, Schedule 2, Part 1, Class A — two-storey rear extension conditions.
A fixed process built around how Maidstone Borough Council validates and decides two-storey applications.
Send us your Bearsted & Downswood postcode and garden depth. We measure the 7-metre boundary rule against your plot, confirm designation status, and score your odds against live Maidstone Borough Council decisions.
We measure the original rear wall, eaves and ridge heights, garden depth and every neighbouring window that faces the site — the inputs the daylight and overlooking case is built from.
Chartered designers develop the two-storey addition to your brief with the roof and eaves resolved, and we coordinate the load path so the structural scheme and the planning scheme are the same building.
We submit the application, manage validation and case-officer queries, and revise the drawings free until Maidstone Borough Council issues its decision.
Often, but not always. A two-storey rear extension can be permitted development if it projects no more than 3 metres, sits at least 7 metres from the rear boundary, does not exceed the existing eaves and ridge, and has obscure-glazed non-opening side windows below 1.7 metres. In Bearsted & Downswood, the 7-metre rule is what most commonly forces a full application to Maidstone Borough Council.
No part of a permitted-development two-storey rear extension may come within 7 metres of the boundary opposite the rear wall of the house. It exists to protect the neighbour behind you from being overlooked at first floor. On shorter Bearsted & Downswood gardens this is decisive, and we measure it on survey before any design work rather than discovering it at validation. Maidstone Borough Council is the decision-maker.
Not under permitted development — two-storey side extensions always need a full application to Maidstone Borough Council. They are assessed on the gap to the boundary, whether the street's rhythm of spaces between houses survives, and whether the extension is subordinate to the original. Setting the first floor back from the front building line and down from the ridge is what usually makes the difference. This applies to your Bearsted & Downswood address specifically.
Overlooking is the most common objection, and it is answerable on the drawings. We position habitable-room windows away from neighbouring gardens, obscure-glaze and fix shut anything on the flank below 1.7 metres, and show the sight lines in section. Where the geometry is tight, a rooflight or a high-level window gives the same daylight without the mutual overlooking that draws objections. This applies to your Bearsted & Downswood address specifically. Maidstone Borough Council is the decision-maker.
Almost certainly. Excavating within 3 metres of a neighbouring structure and building on or up to the boundary both trigger the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, and a two-storey extension usually does both. It is entirely separate from Maidstone Borough Council's planning decision, so we flag the notice period early and detail the junction on the drawings. This applies to your Bearsted & Downswood address specifically.
Yes. Adding a floor changes the load path from roof to foundation, so beams, padstones and foundation depths all need designing and calculating for building control. Planning and building regulations are separate consents, and the structural set is what building control assesses — we prepare both so the approved scheme is the buildable one. This applies to your Bearsted & Downswood address specifically. Maidstone Borough Council is the decision-maker.
We quote each Bearsted & Downswood two-storey extension individually, because plot depth, roof form and structural complexity vary house to house, and send a fixed, no-obligation quote within one working day. It covers the drawing pack with free revisions until Maidstone Borough Council approves. Call 020 7864 7245 to start.
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