Two-storey extension drawings for Boughton and Courtenay homes — bedroom above, living space below, drawn against the 3-metre projection and 7-metre boundary rules and to Swale Borough Council's design guidance, delivered in days and revised free until your decision.
Swale Borough Council granted 94% of the householder planning decisions it made in its latest published year — 7 points above the 87% England-wide householder average. Boughton and Courtenay contains Boughton - Boughton Church, Boughton - Boughton Street, Boughton - South Street conservation areas (Boughton - Boughton Church designated 1976), 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 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. Boughton and Courtenay carries at least one Article 4 direction, and conservation areas including Boughton - Boughton Church, Boughton - Boughton Street and Boughton - South Street remove those rights outright, so we confirm your exact address before a line is drawn. A validated householder application in Boughton and Courtenay is determined against an 8-week statutory target.
Boughton - Boughton Church (conservation area designated in 1976), Boughton - Boughton Street (conservation area designated in 1970), Boughton - South Street (conservation area designated in 1975), Goodnestone (conservation area designated in 1999), Graveney - Graveney Bridge (conservation area designated in 1970), Graveney - Graveney Church (conservation area designated in 1999), Hernhill (conservation area designated in 1971), Hernhill - Dargate (conservation area designated in 1999), Hernhill - Fostall (conservation area designated in 1999), Selling (conservation area designated in 1973), Selling - Shepherd's Hill (conservation area designated in 2000), Sheldwich (conservation area designated in 1982), Staplestreet (conservation area designated in 1971), Boughton under Blean (civil parish within Boughton and Courtenay), Dunkirk (civil parish within Boughton and Courtenay), Graveney with Goodnestone (civil parish within Boughton and Courtenay), Hernhill (civil parish within Boughton and Courtenay), Selling (civil parish within Boughton and Courtenay) and Sheldwich (civil parish within Boughton and Courtenay) — these are the Boughton and Courtenay pockets our drawings cover most. Heritage designations here include Boughton - Boughton Church, Boughton - Boughton Street, Boughton - South Street, Goodnestone, Graveney - Graveney Bridge, Graveney - Graveney Church, Hernhill, Hernhill - Dargate, Hernhill - Fostall, Selling, Selling - Shepherd's Hill, Sheldwich and Staplestreet. Swale Borough Council weighs each proposal against the adopted Swale local plan and Swale Borough Council's design guidance for householder work, where the 2,590 homes here are 36% pre-1900, 9% 1955-1964, 9% 1965-1972, 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 shallow gabled roofs typical of that period's building, over Victorian and earlier houses (36% of 2,590 homes), late-1950s and early-1960s houses (9%) and late-1960s and early-1970s houses (9%).
What is permitted in Boughton and Courtenay turns on designation first, so that is where we start: Boughton - Boughton Church (conservation area designated in 1976), Boughton - Boughton Street (conservation area designated in 1970), Boughton - South Street (conservation area designated in 1975), Goodnestone (conservation area designated in 1999), Graveney - Graveney Bridge (conservation area designated in 1970), Graveney - Graveney Church (conservation area designated in 1999), Hernhill (conservation area designated in 1971), Hernhill - Dargate (conservation area designated in 1999), Hernhill - Fostall (conservation area designated in 1999), Selling (conservation area designated in 1973), Selling - Shepherd's Hill (conservation area designated in 2000), Sheldwich (conservation area designated in 1982) and Staplestreet (conservation area designated in 1971). Inside those boundaries permitted development is curtailed and Swale 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, Boughton and Courtenay takes in Boughton under Blean, Dunkirk, Graveney with Goodnestone, Hernhill, Selling and Sheldwich. Swale Borough Council has 22 recorded Article 4 directions, removing permitted development for rear and side extensions — check the address before assuming PD applies in Boughton and Courtenay.
On stock, Boughton and Courtenay is Victorian and earlier houses (36% of 2,590 homes), late-1950s and early-1960s houses (9%) and late-1960s and early-1970s houses (9%) — which is why steeply pitched slate roofs, valley gutters and party parapets typical of pre-1900 building and shallow gabled roofs typical of that period's building govern what a loft or rear projection can realistically be. Swale Borough Council decided 329 householder applications in the latest published year and granted 94%, with 37% issued inside the eight-week target. We draw to that record rather than to a national average.
The full build-period split for Boughton and Courtenay runs pre-1900 36% (920 homes), 1900-1918 3% (70 homes), 1919-1929 1% (30 homes), 1930-1939 4% (110 homes), 1945-1954 7% (190 homes), 1955-1964 9% (240 homes), 1965-1972 9% (230 homes), 1973-1982 7% (190 homes), 1983-1992 7% (170 homes), 1993-1999 5% (120 homes) and 2000-2008 3% (70 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.
Swale Borough Council also decides for Abbey, Borden and Grove Park, East Downs, Sheerness, Teynham and Lynsted, Watling and West Downs, so a decision in Boughton and Courtenay 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 1 and 2 Flint Cottages, 20 East Street, 43-47, 49-51, 54, 56, 57, 59-72 Marine Parade and 49, 88, 90, 104, 114-128(evens), 132-140(evens) The Street and 1 & 2 Chapel Cottages. 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 Boughton and Courtenay and Swale 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 | Boughton and Courtenay |
|---|---|
| Dwellings recorded | 2,590 |
| Built pre-1900 | 920 (36%) |
| Built 1900-1918 | 70 (3%) |
| Built 1919-1929 | 30 (1%) |
| Built 1930-1939 | 110 (4%) |
| Built 1945-1954 | 190 (7%) |
| Built 1955-1964 | 240 (9%) |
| Built 1965-1972 | 230 (9%) |
| Built 1973-1982 | 190 (7%) |
| Built 1983-1992 | 170 (7%) |
| Built 1993-1999 | 120 (5%) |
| Built 2000-2008 | 70 (3%) |
| Built before 1919 | 38% |
| Built 1919–1939 | 5% |
| Built 1945–2008 | 47% |
| Conservation areas in Boughton and Courtenay | 13 (Boughton - Boughton Church, Boughton - Boughton Street…) |
| Conservation areas district-wide | 52 |
| Article 4 directions recorded | 22 |
| Householder applications decided | 329 |
| Householder applications granted | 94% |
| Decided within 8 weeks | 37% |
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 Swale 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. Boughton and Courtenay is largely Victorian and earlier houses (36% of 2,590 homes), late-1950s and early-1960s houses (9%) and late-1960s and early-1970s houses (9%), and steeply pitched slate roofs, valley gutters and party parapets typical of pre-1900 building and shallow gabled roofs typical of that period's 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.
Boughton and Courtenay contains Boughton - Boughton Church, Boughton - Boughton Street, Boughton - South Street conservation areas (Boughton - Boughton Church designated 1976), so materials, fenestration and roof form are assessed against the appraisal. Swale Borough Council has 22 recorded Article 4 directions, removing permitted development for rear and side extensions — check the address before assuming PD applies in Boughton and Courtenay.
Some two-storey rear extensions are permitted development. You will need a full application to Swale 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 Swale Borough Council checks first — then submit a validation-complete pack.
Below is Swale Borough Council's real householder decision record, drawn from official planning statistics and refreshed as new data lands. Swale Borough Council granted 94% of its householder applications in the year to 31 March 2026, and Boughton - Boughton Church 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 Boughton - Boughton Church, Boughton - Boughton Street and Boughton - South Street, 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 victorian and earlier houses (36% of 2,590 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 2,590 homes here are 36% pre-1900, 9% 1955-1964, 9% 1965-1972, 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 Boughton and Courtenay. A few of the areas where they come up most often:
Two storey extension drawings for Boughton - Boughton Church — conservation area designated in 1976 — dimensioned against the 3m and 7m limits and drawn to Swale Borough Council's guidance.
Two storey extension drawings for Boughton - Boughton Street — conservation area designated in 1970 — dimensioned against the 3m and 7m limits and drawn to Swale Borough Council's guidance.
Two storey extension drawings for Boughton - South Street — conservation area designated in 1975 — dimensioned against the 3m and 7m limits and drawn to Swale Borough Council's guidance.
Two storey extension drawings for Goodnestone — conservation area designated in 1999 — dimensioned against the 3m and 7m limits and drawn to Swale Borough Council's guidance.
Two storey extension drawings for Graveney - Graveney Bridge — conservation area designated in 1970 — dimensioned against the 3m and 7m limits and drawn to Swale Borough Council's guidance.
Two storey extension drawings for Graveney - Graveney Church — conservation area designated in 1999 — dimensioned against the 3m and 7m limits and drawn to Swale 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 Swale 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 Swale Borough Council validates and decides two-storey applications.
Send us your Boughton and Courtenay postcode and garden depth. We measure the 7-metre boundary rule against your plot, confirm designation status, and score your odds against live Swale 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 Swale 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 Boughton and Courtenay, the 7-metre rule is what most commonly forces a full application to Swale 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 Boughton and Courtenay gardens this is decisive, and we measure it on survey before any design work rather than discovering it at validation. Swale Borough Council is the decision-maker.
Not under permitted development — two-storey side extensions always need a full application to Swale 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 Boughton and Courtenay 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 Boughton and Courtenay address specifically. Swale 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 Swale Borough Council's planning decision, so we flag the notice period early and detail the junction on the drawings. This applies to your Boughton and Courtenay 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 Boughton and Courtenay address specifically. Swale Borough Council is the decision-maker.
We quote each Boughton and Courtenay 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 Swale Borough Council approves. Call 020 7864 7245 to start.
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