Planning drawings in Lewisham, £895 fixed

What is the householder approval rate in Lewisham?

Lewisham Council granted 517 of 578 householder decisions (89.4%) from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, with larger home extension prior approvals counted in. That is 3.6 points above London's 85.8% (20,556 of 23,967), and 61 of its 578 decisions were not granted. Rank 12 counts the 32 boroughs with 50+ decisions (one has fewer). Source: MHCLG PS2. Compare all boroughs: London approval rates table.

What does Lewisham Council need to validate an application?

• Block plans must be at 1:500, and every plan and drawing must carry a scale bar showing a length of 1 metre and 10 metres and the direction of north. This is the householder checklist the council links as its list from October 2022. (source)
• Householder drawings also need a site survey with datum points and contours, and street elevations showing the proposal against the existing streetscene. (source)
• A new or extended basement in an Archaeological Priority Area needs a desk-based archaeological assessment. (source)
• A flood risk assessment on the Environment Agency form is needed in Flood Zones 2 and 3 and where the site is subject to surface water flood risk, even if it is in Flood Zone 1. (source)
• If an application is invalid you have 21 days to supply what is missing before it is withdrawn. (source)
• The council published a September 2026 draft of a revised householder checklist and consulted on it until 29 September 2026. The draft repeats the 1:500 block plan, the 1 metre and 10 metre scale bar, the archaeological assessment and the 21 days, and keeps the flood risk form for proposals that change the ground-floor footprint. No final revised list had replaced the 2022 one when we checked. (source)

Article 4 directions in Lewisham

two Article 4 directions below remove permitted development rights in Lewisham. Check an address with the permitted development checker.

• Small HMOs, borough-wide. Turning a house into a small HMO needs planning permission in Bellingham, Downham, Grove Park and Whitefoot since 7 March 2020, and in the rest of the borough since 19 January 2024. (source)
• Conservation area and building directions (about 30, including Brockley, Telegraph Hill, Ladywell, Lee Manor, Forest Hill and parts of Blackheath). For single-family houses these bring visible changes such as windows, doors, roof alterations, porches, driveways, front boundaries and painting under planning control. (source)

Lewisham lists 29 conservation areas, from Blackheath and Brockley to Sydenham Hill and Deptford Creekside. (source)

How long does a planning decision take in Lewisham?

Lewisham decided 413 householder applications from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, prior approvals excluded; 393 of them (95.2%) took eight weeks or less.

• Lewisham says it aims to decide minor applications within eight weeks. (source)

Design guidance: Alterations and Extensions SPD (April 2019). Adopted 24 April 2019, it replaced the extensions section of the Residential Standards SPD.

Drawings and prices in Lewisham

• get your planning drawings prepared: £895.
• prepare your building regulations package: £795.
• extension drawings and approval routes

Do I need planning permission? · Certificate of lawfulness from £950.

Neighbouring boroughs

Council facts checked 14 October 2026.