Planning permission, project by project
Plain-English guides to the projects homeowners actually build, in the order England actually builds them — each grounded in the official rules, quoted verbatim, with the real approval numbers from our example reports. General guidance ends where your address begins: the free check reads the rules for your exact property.
Do I need planning permission?
The first question of every project — and how to answer it for your exact address in ten seconds rather than three weeks.
Read the guide →Planning permission for an extension
London’s most common project. The permitted development envelope, what removes it, and the design tests an application faces.
In our Clapham example, 211 of 262 decided extension applications within 1 km were approved — 81%.
Read the guide →Planning permission for a loft conversion
Dormers are permitted development on one street and a full application on the next. The single rule that decides which — and the numbers behind local refusals.
In our Walthamstow example, 93 of 142 decided loft applications within 1 km were approved — 65%, the toughest rate in our example set.
Read the guide →Planning permission for a basement
London’s second most-applied-for project. Why most basements need a full application, and what the approval numbers really say.
In our Notting Hill example, 116 of 142 decided basement applications within 1 km were approved — 82%.
Read the guide →Planning permission for a garden office
Usually no application needed at all — if you respect the Class E limits. Height is the variable that causes the trouble.
In our Richmond example, 77 of 85 decided outbuilding applications within 1 km were approved — 91%, the most-approved project type we measured.
Read the guide →Planning permission to convert a house into flats
Subdivision is always a planning matter — and quality of the resulting homes, not the principle, is where schemes fail.
In our Greenwich example, 207 of 267 decided change-of-use applications within 1 km were approved — 78%.
Read the guide →