About three weeks from booking the survey to a submitted application, for a typical London householder extension or loft. The survey is usually done within five working days, the existing and proposed drawings take the next seven to ten days, and the application pack two or three more (our price list and FAQ). The council then has 8 weeks to decide, counted from validation, unless you agree longer (MHCLG). Our complete service is £645 drawings + £150 survey (£795 total).
On this page
So from first call to a decision, plan on roughly three months for a straightforward householder application in most London boroughs, and more where the council is slower or the scheme needs changes.
What happens in each week?
| Step | Typical time | Who controls it |
|---|---|---|
| Book and carry out the measured survey | Within 5 working days | Us and your diary |
| Existing drawings | Part of the next 7 to 10 days | Us |
| Proposed drawings and your comments | Part of the same 7 to 10 days | You and us |
| Application pack and submission | 2 to 3 days | Us |
| Validation by the council | Varies by borough | The council |
| Consultation and decision | 8 weeks from validation | The council |
Times are from our pricing page FAQ and the MHCLG guidance.
What slows the drawing stage down?
You do, mostly, and that is fine. The proposed drawings are where the design is decided: how deep the extension goes, where the roof light sits, whether the dormer is full width. Each round of changes adds a few days. Decide what you want before the survey, and the drawings move quickly.
Other delays we see on London jobs:
- Access. A survey needs entry to every room and, ideally, the loft and garden. Tenanted flats and shared freeholds can take a week to arrange.
- Extra reports. A house in a conservation area may need a heritage statement; a tree near the extension may need a tree survey; a flood zone near the Thames or the Lea needs a flood risk assessment. Each adds days, and some councils will not validate without them.
- Neighbour sign-off on a shared roof. On a London terrace loft, it helps to have spoken to the neighbour before the drawings are fixed.
When does the council's 8-week clock start?
At validation, not when the application is uploaded. The government's guidance treats the statutory period as starting once the council has the fee, documents and information it needs to validate (MHCLG, paragraph 053). If anything is missing, such as a location plan without the red line touching the road, the clock does not start until it is fixed. A complete pack is the single easiest way to save time.
The 8 weeks is for most applications other than major development (paragraph 001). It can be extended by written agreement, and councils do ask for that when an amendment round is needed.
What happens during the 8 weeks?
Once the application is validated, the council publishes it on its planning register, notifies neighbours, and consults anyone else who needs a say, such as its conservation or tree officer. The neighbour consultation usually runs for the first few weeks. The case officer visits the site or reviews photographs, reads any objections, and writes a report recommending a decision. Most householder applications are decided by an officer under delegated powers rather than at a committee.
You can follow it on the council's online register. If the officer emails with concerns, answer quickly: amended drawings can often be accepted before the decision, at the council's discretion, and our post on amending drawings after council comments explains how. Silence until week eight usually means a decision on the plans as submitted.
Which London councils are fastest?
Speed varies more than most people expect. Across London, 15,451 of 16,549 householder decisions, excluding prior approvals, were made within 8 weeks between July 2025 and June 2026 (MHCLG live table PS2). At the ends of the range:
| Borough | Decided within 8 weeks |
|---|---|
| Bexley | 755 of 758 |
| Barking and Dagenham | 351 of 351 |
| Richmond upon Thames | 923 of 935 |
| Merton | 303 of 406 |
| Westminster | 123 of 186 |
| Camden | 129 of 212 |
Same source and period. These are counts of past decisions, not a promise about yours. Your borough's figures are on its page under London, for example Camden or Bexley.
Can I make the whole thing faster?
Some of it.
Book the survey now. It is the first step whatever you build, and it is useful even if you are still deciding. A measured survey costs £150 on its own and is stage one of the full service.
Check permitted development first. If the project needs no application, you skip the 8 weeks entirely. Our planning permission guide explains the tests; a certificate of lawfulness is optional.
Run building regulations in parallel only once the design is fixed. Building control is expected to decide a full plans application within 5 weeks, or 2 months with your consent (GOV.UK). Starting the construction drawings while the planning decision is pending saves time but risks redrawing if the officer asks for changes.
Use pre-application advice selectively. It adds weeks before submission, but on a difficult site it can prevent a refusal. Our pre-application cost post sets out the London fees.
Frequently asked questions
Can you do the drawings in a week? Rarely. The survey alone is usually up to five working days, and the design needs your input. We would rather say three weeks and keep to it.
When can my builder start? After permission, and after building regulations approval or a building notice, and any party wall notices have run. On most London extensions, plan on several months from first call, not weeks.
Does a faster council mean a better chance of permission? No. Speed and outcome are separate. A quick refusal is still a refusal.
What if the council goes over 8 weeks? It happens, especially in the slower boroughs. You can ask the officer for a date, agree an extension, or, in some cases, appeal for non-determination. We chase the officer as part of the service.
Is a flat slower than a house? Often, yes. Flats have no householder permitted development rights, so more work needs an application, and a leasehold flat usually needs the freeholder's consent as well, which runs alongside the planning clock rather than inside it. Start that conversation at the same time as the survey.
