A corner of yellow-brick Victorian terraced houses with red brick arches over the windows on Pearman Street in Lambeth, a white van and bare trees
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 Lambeth

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

Lambeth keeps at least 70% of a rear garden free of basement, and limits the part beyond the house to the size of the house's own footprint. Its Basements guidance allows one floor below ground, no higher than 3m, nothing under an existing semi-basement, and only negligible Burland damage to listed buildings.

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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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 Lambeth Council asks of a basement

From the council's Lambeth Design Guide SPD Part 5: Basements (guidance on Local Plan Policy Q27) (adopted August 2023).

  • Policy Q27 G limits the extent of a basement beyond the footprint of the host building to no greater than the footprint of the host building, and requires no less than 70% of the rear garden to stay free of basement development and at its original ground level. (source, checked 26 October 2026)
  • Policy Q27 F limits basement residential accommodation to one floor below ground, and new basement accommodation is not supported beneath existing basements, including semi-basements. (source, checked 26 October 2026)
  • The SPD says the floor to ceiling heights of new residential basements should not exceed 3m, to minimise excavation and give adequate amenity. (source, checked 26 October 2026)
  • Q27 G (ii) seeks a basement roof in the rear garden that is level with the ground and usable as amenity space, and any grading down to the basement must sit outside the 70% of garden that stays unaltered. (source, checked 26 October 2026)
  • For statutory listed buildings, anything above Category 0 (Negligible, hairline cracks under 0.1mm) on the Burland Scale is unacceptable, and Policy Q27 J requires a Stage 1 (Screening) Basement Impact Assessment. (source, checked 26 October 2026)

What Lambeth basement drawings have to show

A Lambeth basement is drawn to two limits at the back: the part beyond the house may be no larger than the house's own footprint, and at least 70% of the rear garden stays at its original level with no basement under it. Any steps or sloped garden down to the basement have to fit inside the other 30%.

The sections show one floor below ground, no higher than 3m, and a flat roof at garden level that works as a terrace. Where the house has a semi-basement already, we say early that Lambeth will not support a new level beneath it, and next to a listed building the engineer's Burland assessment has to show category 0.

PS2 · at a glance

Lambeth: 595 householder decisions

Lambeth
Approvals, prior approvals included83.4%

496 of 595 granted. London: 85.8%.

Decided within 8 weeks94.1%

333 of 354 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 Lambeth

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

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

Answers

Lambeth basement questions

How much of the rear garden can a basement take in Lambeth?
No more than 30%. Policy Q27 G requires at least 70% of the rear garden to stay free of basement development and at its original ground level, and the part of the basement beyond the house can be no bigger than the house's own footprint. Steps or slopes down to the basement must sit outside the protected 70%.
Can I dig under an existing semi-basement in Lambeth?
No. The Lambeth Design Guide's Basements part says new basement accommodation is not supported beneath existing basement accommodation, including semi-basements, because Policy Q27 F limits basement homes to one floor below ground. Many of the borough's early to mid nineteenth century houses already have a semi-basement, so we check yours on the survey first.
What damage is acceptable next to a listed building in Lambeth?
Nothing above Category 0 on the Burland Scale, described as negligible hairline cracks of less than 0.1mm. Where the Basement Impact Assessment predicts more for a listed building, mitigation must be added to the scheme. A Stage 1 screening assessment is required for basements under Policy Q27 J, and the council can ask for further stages.

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