How Much Do House Extension Plans Cost in Stokenchurch?

Is Stokenchurch in the Green Belt?

The Wycombe District Local Plan, still the plan for the former Wycombe area, places Stokenchurch in Tier 3 of its settlement hierarchy, alongside Flackwell Heath, Marlow Bottom, Naphill and Lane End (Wycombe Local Plan). Where the plan discusses Stokenchurch's housing and business sites south of the M40, it describes them as land in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (paragraph 5.5.61). It does not describe them as Green Belt, unlike its sections on Lane End and Marlow Bottom.

We read that as a strong sign that the village is outside the Green Belt, but a plan's wording is not a map. We check the council's Policies Map for your address before design starts. If the house is outside the Green Belt, there is no cap of 50% over the 1948 volume. If an outlying house on the lanes towards Ibstone or Radnage turns out to be inside it, the volume test applies and we draw the original, existing and proposed volumes.

What can I build without planning permission in Stokenchurch?

Less than in a town, because Stokenchurch is in the Chilterns, now the Chilterns National Landscape. That makes every house here "article 2(3) land", and the permitted development rights shrink (GPDO 2015, Schedule 2, Part 1, Class A, paragraph A.2):

• a side extension is never permitted development;
• a rear extension of more than one storey is never permitted development;
• cladding the outside in render, pebbledash, timber, tiles or stone needs permission.

A single-storey rear extension inside the standard depth and height limits still is. For that, we draw it for a lawful development certificate so you have proof it is lawful when you sell. For everything else, the route is a planning application.

What do the design rules ask of a Stokenchurch extension?

Two documents do most of the work. Policy DM36 of the Local Plan asks for an extension that is subservient to the house and respects its character, the area and the neighbours. The council's Householder Planning and Design Guidance from January 2020 turns that into tests (SPD):

• In the Chilterns, extensions should be sympathetic in shape, scale and bulk, roof size and shape, chimneys, materials, windows, porches and garages, and should follow the Chilterns Building Design Guidance (paragraph 6.20).
• Two-storey side extensions should leave at least 1 metre to the boundary at first floor level, and more on a spacious plot.
• Dormers, if you add rooms in the roof at the same time, should sit at least 1 metre above the eaves, 1 metre in from the edge of a gable and 0.5 metres from the edge of a hip.

For many owners, this means a two-storey side extension set back from the front and dropped below the main ridge, with brick and tile that match. That is a shape the case officer can read as subservient. A full-width, full-height side extension that turns a semi into a terrace is the kind the guidance pushes against.

What about the Stokenchurch conservation area?

The centre of the village is a conservation area, designated in 1989. The county's Heritage Portal records that Stokenchurch moved from Oxfordshire to Buckinghamshire in 1896, and that the village once had a sawmill at each end (Heritage Portal record).

There is a gap in the paperwork. The council's conservation area page lists a Stokenchurch conservation area map, but no character survey, where Lane End and Marlow each have one (Buckinghamshire conservation areas). With no survey to quote, the heritage statement that goes with an application has to describe the area's character for itself: the buildings either side, the materials, the gaps between houses and any listed building in view. We write it for from £565. Outside the boundary, a heritage statement is only needed if the house is listed.

Does the M40 or the new housing change anything?

For most extensions, no. The Local Plan allocates land south of Mill Road, south of the M40, for about 100 homes (Policy RUR8), and land behind Stokenchurch Business Park at Junction 5 for employment (Policy RUR10). If your house backs onto one of those sites, the outlook and the boundary may change once building starts. We show what is there on the day of the survey, and the case officer judges an extension against the neighbours as they stand. If the new homes are built first, we update the site plan before submission so the drawings match what is on the ground.

How long does it take, and what is the total?

In the year to 30 June 2026, Buckinghamshire decided 842 of 1,361 householder applications within eight weeks without an agreed extension of time (MHCLG live table PS2).

• Our planning drawings and submission: £645 drawings + £250 survey (£895 total).
• Buckinghamshire Council's householder fee: £548.
• A heritage statement in the conservation area: from £565.
• Building regulations drawings and structural calculations after approval: our package is from £1,245 drawings + £250 survey (£1,495 total) for one extension.

Our Buckinghamshire Council page covers validation, and the Buckinghamshire page covers the county. For a Chilterns village that is partly in the Green Belt, see extension plans in Lane End. For a roof project nearer the town, see loft conversion drawings in High Wycombe.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Green Belt 50% rule apply to my Stokenchurch house? Usually not. The Local Plan describes Stokenchurch as Chilterns land, not Green Belt, so the Wycombe volume caps are not the starting point. We confirm your address on the Policies Map first.

Can I build a single-storey side extension without planning permission? No. Stokenchurch is in the Chilterns National Landscape, and on that land a side extension is not permitted development, whatever its height.

Is there a conservation area appraisal for Stokenchurch? The council lists a map of the conservation area but no character survey, so a heritage statement describes the setting from scratch.

Can I render or clad my extension? Cladding the house in render, pebbledash, timber or tiles is not permitted development on article 2(3) land, so it needs to be shown on the planning drawings.