A curving Georgian terrace of brown brick houses with white arched doorways and window surrounds on Remington Street in Islington, a lamp post and parked cars
Floor plan drawings, pencil sketches of a house, a scale rule and a protractor spread across a desk
Photo: Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels

Basement planning drawings · London Borough of Islington

Basement planning drawings in Islington, from £1,855 fixed

Islington's Policy DH4 sizes a basement by the smaller of two limits: under half the original garden, or no more than half the house's footprint outside it. It allows one storey and a ceiling of 3m at most, keeps the garden level, and needs a Structural Method Statement with the application.

Basementfrom £1,705 drawings + £150 survey (£1,855 total)
Council fee£548
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Council fee, paid to your council£548
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Plus the Planning Portal's own charge if the application goes through the Portal: up to £149 including VAT, depending on the application type, and some types have none (source).

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Two Victorian terraced houses on a London street, one painted white and one in yellow stock brick, with bay windows
A London terrace. Photo: Huy Phan / Pexels.

What Islington Council asks of a basement

From the council's Islington Local Plan, Strategic and Development Management Policies, Policy DH4 (Basement development) (adopted September 2023).

  • Policy DH4 says a residential basement must cumulatively occupy less than 50% of the original garden and/or unbuilt area, or the area outside the footprint of the host building must total no more than 50% of that footprint, whichever is the lesser. (source, checked 26 October 2026)
  • A basement must not involve excavation of more than one storey below the original habitable floor level, and its height must not exceed 3m floor to ceiling. (source, checked 26 October 2026)
  • Applicants must provide a Structural Method Statement as evidence that the basement would not cause an unacceptable degree of harm to structural stability, ground and water conditions, character or heritage assets. (source, checked 26 October 2026)
  • Basements must be designed to preserve existing gardens, reinforce the visual relief of soft landscaping between buildings, and not significantly alter the prevailing garden level. (source, checked 26 October 2026)

What Islington basement drawings have to show

An Islington basement is sized by two areas, and the smaller one wins: half of the original garden and unbuilt land, or half of the house's own footprint for the part that runs outside it. On a terrace with a long garden the footprint test is usually the tighter, so we draw both and dimension the limit that applies.

Sections show a single storey below the original habitable floors, no more than 3m floor to ceiling, and the garden level kept where it is. Lightwells are kept modest and discreet, as DH4 asks, and the drawings give the engineer what the Structural Method Statement must assess.

PS2 · at a glance

Islington: 337 householder decisions

Islington
Approvals, prior approvals included92.6%

312 of 337 granted. London: 85.8%.

Decided within 8 weeks97.3%

142 of 146 applications, prior approvals excluded.

Source: MHCLG PS2, 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. Dark tick: London.
Two hands holding a printed floor plan over a desk of drawings, with a pen and notebook beside it
Checking the drawings with you before anything goes to the council. Photo: Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels.

What it costs in Islington

  • Basement planning drawings: from £1,705 drawings + £150 survey (£1,855 total), plus £548 to Islington Council.
  • Householder application fee, paid to your council; basement impact and structural reports are by others.

Basement planning drawings across London · Islington planning rules · every price

Answers

Islington basement questions

How big can a basement be in Islington?
Less than 50% of the original garden and unbuilt area, or no more than 50% of the house's footprint for the part outside it, whichever is smaller. Policy DH4 also limits excavation to one storey below the original habitable floor level and the height to 3m floor to ceiling, and asks that the garden level stays largely as it is.
What does an Islington Structural Method Statement cover?
Evidence that the basement would not cause an unacceptable degree of harm to the stability of the house, nearby buildings, trees and infrastructure, to ground and water conditions, or to the character of the building, the area and heritage assets. Policy DH4 requires it with basement applications, and an engineer prepares it from our survey and drawings.

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01
Measured surveyWithin five working days
£150
02
Existing drawingsThe building as it stands
£175
03
Proposed drawingsYour scheme, revised until right
£225
04
Planning application packForms, statements, OS plans
£125
05
Submission and agent servicePortal submission, queries handled
£120
Total, planning application£795
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