Two-storey extension drawings for Richmond upon Thames homes — bedroom above, living space below, drawn against the 3-metre projection and 7-metre boundary rules and to Richmond upon Thames Council's design guidance, delivered in days and revised free until your decision.
Richmond upon Thames Council granted 86% of the householder planning decisions it made in its latest published year — 1 point below the 87% England-wide householder average. The borough's exceptional conservation coverage means design detail and materials are scrutinised closely, which is where a policy-literate drawing pack earns its keep. Its dominant Georgian (1714–1837), Victorian (1837–1901), Edwardian (1901–1910) and interwar (1918–1939) housing stock sets the design brief on most streets.
Under Class B, a rear dormer stays permitted development up to 40m³ of added roof volume on a terrace or 50m³ on a semi-detached or detached house, while Class A allows a single-storey rear extension of 3m beyond the original rear wall on a terrace and 4m on a detached house before a full application is needed. Richmond upon Thames carries at least one Article 4 direction, and conservation areas including Richmond Green, Twickenham Riverside and Kew Green remove those rights outright, so we confirm your exact address before a line is drawn. A validated householder application in Richmond upon Thames is determined against an 8-week statutory target.
Richmond (Georgian and Victorian houses around Richmond Green), Twickenham (riverside conservation streets and Edwardian terraces), Kew (Victorian houses around Kew Green), Teddington (Edwardian terraces and villas), East Sheen (Edwardian family houses near Sheen Common) and Ham (period cottages and houses by Ham Common) — these are the Richmond upon Thames pockets our drawings cover most. Heritage designations here include Richmond Green, Twickenham Riverside, Kew Green, Ham Common and East Sheen (Sheen Common). Richmond upon Thames Council weighs each proposal against Richmond Local Plan and the House Extensions and External Alterations SPD, where roof alterations and dormers visible from the street or river are strongly resisted. On roofs the borough is pitched roofs on the villas and butterfly roofs on the terraces, over Victorian and Edwardian villas and terraces, Georgian houses near the river and interwar semis in the outer wards.
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. Richmond upon Thames is largely Victorian and Edwardian villas and terraces, Georgian houses near the river and interwar semis in the outer wards, and pitched roofs on the villas and butterfly roofs on the terraces 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.
The borough's exceptional conservation coverage means design detail and materials are scrutinised closely. Richmond is one of London's most conservation-heavy boroughs, with widespread Article 4 directions — on many streets even minor external alterations that would be permitted development elsewhere need a full application.
Some two-storey rear extensions are permitted development. You will need a full application to Richmond upon Thames 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 Richmond upon Thames Council checks first — then submit a validation-complete pack.
Below is Richmond upon Thames Council's real householder decision record, drawn from official planning statistics and refreshed as new data lands. Richmond grants a fair share of householder applications, but its dense conservation-area and Article 4 coverage makes design quality and roof visibility decisive. 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, rolling year). Compare every borough on our London approval-rate league table.
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Across Richmond, Twickenham and Kew, 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 edwardian villas and terraces, 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.
Roof alterations and dormers visible from the street or river are strongly resisted. 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 Richmond upon Thames. A few of the areas where they come up most often:
Two storey extension drawings for Richmond — Georgian and Victorian houses around Richmond Green — dimensioned against the 3m and 7m limits and drawn to Richmond upon Thames Council's guidance.
Two storey extension drawings for Twickenham — riverside conservation streets and Edwardian terraces — dimensioned against the 3m and 7m limits and drawn to Richmond upon Thames Council's guidance.
Two storey extension drawings for Kew — Victorian houses around Kew Green — dimensioned against the 3m and 7m limits and drawn to Richmond upon Thames Council's guidance.
Two storey extension drawings for Teddington — Edwardian terraces and villas — dimensioned against the 3m and 7m limits and drawn to Richmond upon Thames Council's guidance.
Two storey extension drawings for East Sheen — Edwardian family houses near Sheen Common — dimensioned against the 3m and 7m limits and drawn to Richmond upon Thames Council's guidance.
Two storey extension drawings for Ham — period cottages and houses by Ham Common — dimensioned against the 3m and 7m limits and drawn to Richmond upon Thames 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 Richmond upon Thames 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 Richmond upon Thames Council validates and decides two-storey applications.
Send us your Richmond upon Thames postcode and garden depth. We measure the 7-metre boundary rule against your plot, confirm designation status, and score your odds against live Richmond upon Thames 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 Richmond upon Thames 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 Richmond upon Thames, the 7-metre rule is what most commonly forces a full application to Richmond upon Thames 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 Richmond upon Thames gardens this is decisive, and we measure it on survey before any design work rather than discovering it at validation. Richmond upon Thames Council is the decision-maker.
Not under permitted development — two-storey side extensions always need a full application to Richmond upon Thames 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.
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 Richmond upon Thames address specifically. Richmond upon Thames 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 Richmond upon Thames Council's planning decision, so we flag the notice period early and detail the junction on the drawings.
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 Richmond upon Thames address specifically. Richmond upon Thames Council is the decision-maker.
We quote each Richmond upon Thames 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 Richmond upon Thames Council approves. Call 020 7864 7245 to start.
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