Greenwich house extensions

What extensions cost in Greenwich

Every figure below is a guide for Greenwich, adjusted for London build costs (×1.3) and including VAT. Design and council fees are shown separately on each page.

Greenwich and surrounding towns

Our survey diary covers Greenwich, including SE3, SE4, SE8, SE10, SE13, SE14. We also work in nearby New Cross (1 mile), Blackheath (1 mile), Brockley (1 mile), Catford (2 miles), Peckham (3 miles). For homes towards Kent, Swanley is around 10 miles away.

• New Cross
• Blackheath
• Brockley
• Catford
• Peckham

Planning and building control in Greenwich

In England a single-storey rear extension can usually go up to 3 m beyond the original rear wall of a semi-detached or terraced house, or 4 m on a detached house, without a planning application, provided it is no more than 4 m high, keeps eaves to 3 m within 2 m of a boundary and, with other buildings, covers no more than half the land around the original house. The larger home extension prior approval scheme raises those depths to 6 m and 8 m, with neighbours notified and a 42-day decision.

In England a single-storey side extension can be permitted development if it is no more than 4 m high and no wider than half the width of the original house. Two-storey side extensions, and any side extension on designated land such as a conservation area, need a householder planning application.

In a conservation area, national park, National Landscape, the Broads or a World Heritage Site the permitted development limits are tighter (no side or two-storey extensions without an application). Listed homes need listed building consent, and if permitted development rights have been removed, any extension needs an application.

If the work involves a shared wall, building on the boundary, or digging foundations within 3 m (sometimes 6 m) of a neighbour's building, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies and notice must be served before work starts: two months for work to a party wall, one month for new walls on the boundary and for excavations.

Applications are decided by the local planning authority (your district, borough or unitary council).

Choosing the right extension in Greenwich

In London, space is at a premium and gardens are often short, so side returns, wraparounds and carefully planned rear extensions tend to make the most of every metre.

The types we would usually look at first for a home in Greenwich are glass box extensions, wraparound extensions and side return extensions, depending on the garden and how the house is laid out.