Two-storey extension drawings for Southgate homes — bedroom above, living space below, drawn against the 3-metre projection and 7-metre boundary rules and to Crawley Borough Council's design guidance, delivered in days and revised free until your decision.
Crawley Borough Council granted 82% of the householder planning decisions it made in its latest published year — 5 points below the 87% England-wide householder average. Southgate contains Brighton Road Conservation Area, Malthouse Road Conservation Area, Southgate Neighbourhood Centre Conservation Area conservation areas (Brighton Road Conservation Area designated 2013), 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.
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. Southgate carries at least one Article 4 direction, and conservation areas including Brighton Road Conservation Area, Malthouse Road Conservation Area and Southgate Neighbourhood Centre Conservation Area remove those rights outright, so we confirm your exact address before a line is drawn. A validated householder application in Southgate is determined against an 8-week statutory target.
Brighton Road (conservation area designated in 2013), Malthouse Road (conservation area designated in 2013) and Southgate Neighbourhood Centre (conservation area designated in 2013) — these are the Southgate pockets our drawings cover most. Heritage designations here include Brighton Road Conservation Area, Malthouse Road Conservation Area and Southgate Neighbourhood Centre Conservation Area. Crawley Borough Council weighs each proposal against the adopted Crawley local plan and Crawley Borough Council's design guidance for householder work, where the 3,980 homes here are 25% 1965-1972, 24% 1955-1964, 13% 1973-1982, 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 shallow gabled roofs typical of that period's building, over late-1960s and early-1970s houses (25% of 3,980 homes), late-1950s and early-1960s houses (24%) and 1970s and early-1980s houses (13%).
Southgate's designated heritage is specific, and it is the first thing we check against your address: Brighton Road (conservation area designated in 2013), Malthouse Road (conservation area designated in 2013) and Southgate Neighbourhood Centre (conservation area designated in 2013). Inside those boundaries permitted development is curtailed and Crawley 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.
Crawley Borough Council has 19 recorded Article 4 directions, removing permitted development for painting the exterior — check the address before assuming PD applies in Southgate.
On stock, Southgate is late-1960s and early-1970s houses (25% of 3,980 homes), late-1950s and early-1960s houses (24%) and 1970s and early-1980s houses (13%) — which is why shallow-pitched roofs and integral garages typical of that period's building and shallow gabled roofs typical of that period's building govern what a loft or rear projection can realistically be. Crawley Borough Council decided 122 householder applications in the latest published year and granted 82%, with 26% issued inside the eight-week target. Those are the numbers our drawings are prepared against.
The full build-period split for Southgate runs pre-1900 5% (210 homes), 1900-1918 3% (100 homes), 1919-1929 1% (20 homes), 1930-1939 1% (30 homes), 1945-1954 2% (80 homes), 1955-1964 24% (970 homes), 1965-1972 25% (1,010 homes), 1973-1982 13% (510 homes), 1983-1992 7% (290 homes), 1993-1999 4% (170 homes) and 2000-2008 6% (240 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.
Crawley Borough Council also decides for Northgate & West Green and Three Bridges, so a decision in Southgate 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 Aintree Road & Epsom Road, Arden Road, Ardingly Close and Beverley Mews. 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 Southgate and Crawley 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 | Southgate |
|---|---|
| Dwellings recorded | 3,980 |
| Built pre-1900 | 210 (5%) |
| Built 1900-1918 | 100 (3%) |
| Built 1919-1929 | 20 (1%) |
| Built 1930-1939 | 30 (1%) |
| Built 1945-1954 | 80 (2%) |
| Built 1955-1964 | 970 (24%) |
| Built 1965-1972 | 1,010 (25%) |
| Built 1973-1982 | 510 (13%) |
| Built 1983-1992 | 290 (7%) |
| Built 1993-1999 | 170 (4%) |
| Built 2000-2008 | 240 (6%) |
| Built before 1919 | 8% |
| Built 1919–1939 | 1% |
| Built 1945–2008 | 82% |
| Conservation areas in Southgate | 3 (Brighton Road Conservation Area, Malthouse Road Conservation Area…) |
| Conservation areas district-wide | 13 |
| Article 4 directions recorded | 19 |
| Householder applications decided | 122 |
| Householder applications granted | 82% |
| Decided within 8 weeks | 26% |
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 Crawley 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. Southgate is largely late-1960s and early-1970s houses (25% of 3,980 homes), late-1950s and early-1960s houses (24%) and 1970s and early-1980s houses (13%), and shallow-pitched roofs and integral garages typical of that period's 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.
Southgate contains Brighton Road Conservation Area, Malthouse Road Conservation Area, Southgate Neighbourhood Centre Conservation Area conservation areas (Brighton Road Conservation Area designated 2013), so materials, fenestration and roof form are assessed against the appraisal. Crawley Borough Council has 19 recorded Article 4 directions, removing permitted development for painting the exterior — check the address before assuming PD applies in Southgate.
Some two-storey rear extensions are permitted development. You will need a full application to Crawley 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 Crawley Borough Council checks first — then submit a validation-complete pack.
Below is Crawley Borough Council's real householder decision record, drawn from official planning statistics and refreshed as new data lands. Crawley Borough Council granted 82% of its householder applications in the year to 31 March 2026, and Brighton Road Conservation Area 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.
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 Brighton Road, Malthouse Road and Southgate Neighbourhood Centre, 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 (25% of 3,980 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 3,980 homes here are 25% 1965-1972, 24% 1955-1964, 13% 1973-1982, 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 Southgate. A few of the areas where they come up most often:
Two storey extension drawings for Brighton Road — conservation area designated in 2013 — dimensioned against the 3m and 7m limits and drawn to Crawley Borough Council's guidance.
Two storey extension drawings for Malthouse Road — conservation area designated in 2013 — dimensioned against the 3m and 7m limits and drawn to Crawley Borough Council's guidance.
Two storey extension drawings for Southgate Neighbourhood Centre — conservation area designated in 2013 — dimensioned against the 3m and 7m limits and drawn to Crawley 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 Crawley 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 Crawley Borough Council validates and decides two-storey applications.
Send us your Southgate postcode and garden depth. We measure the 7-metre boundary rule against your plot, confirm designation status, and score your odds against live Crawley 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 Crawley 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 Southgate, the 7-metre rule is what most commonly forces a full application to Crawley 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 Southgate gardens this is decisive, and we measure it on survey before any design work rather than discovering it at validation. Crawley Borough Council is the decision-maker.
Not under permitted development — two-storey side extensions always need a full application to Crawley 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 Southgate 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 Southgate address specifically. Crawley 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 Crawley Borough Council's planning decision, so we flag the notice period early and detail the junction on the drawings. This applies to your Southgate 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 Southgate address specifically. Crawley Borough Council is the decision-maker.
We quote each Southgate 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 Crawley Borough Council approves. Call 020 7864 7245 to start.
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