Two Victorian terraced houses on a London street, one painted white and one in yellow stock brick, with bay windows
Floor plan drawings, pencil sketches of a house, a scale rule and a protractor spread across a desk
Photo: Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels

House extension plans · London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

House extension plans in Richmond upon Thames, £895 fixed

Richmond's House Extensions and External Alterations SPD (1 June 2015) says a single storey extension is usually acceptable if the projection is no further than 3m for a terraced property, 3.5m for a semi-detached house and 4m for a detached property. The particular circumstances of the site may justify a greater rear projection.

Planning drawings£895
Building regs£795
Council fee£548
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Boroughs33/33
Stages5

Photo: Huy Phan / Pexels

The back of a house extension at shell stage, with a large glazed opening, blockwork walls and a scaffold tower
An extension at shell stage: the opening, the blockwork and the beam above it are what the building regulations drawings describe. Photo: Brett Jordan / Pexels.

What Richmond upon Thames Council asks of a house extension

From the council's House Extensions and External Alterations SPD (adopted 1 June 2015, council page).

  • The effect of a single storey extension is usually acceptable if the projection is no further than 3m for a terraced property, 3.5m for a semi-detached house and 4m for a detached property. The final test of acceptability depends on the particular circumstances of the site, which may justify greater rear projection. (source, checked 14 October 2026)
  • Infill extensions to Victorian properties are fairly typical in the borough; where the depth exceeds the figures above, the eaves height should be limited to 2.2m to mitigate the sense of enclosure. (source, checked 14 October 2026)
  • Windows should either be high level (1.7m above floor level), obscure glazed or omitted from any wall directly facing a neighbouring house or garden, and using the roof of an extension as a balcony will normally be unacceptable. (source, checked 14 October 2026)
  • Two storey side extensions should be sited 1m from the side boundary, and where a side extension is to be subordinate it is usually desirable to set it back at least 1 metre behind the front elevation. (source, checked 14 October 2026)

What Richmond upon Thames house extension drawings have to show

Richmond's depths are tested against the house type, so the drawings first record whether the house is terraced, semi-detached or detached and dimension the projection against 3m, 3.5m or 4m. The SPD calls an extension within those figures usually acceptable and says the final test depends on the particular circumstances of the site, which may justify a greater rear projection. Where a Victorian infill goes beyond the figures, the eaves height is shown limited to 2.2m.

Any wall directly facing a neighbouring house or garden is drawn with windows that are high level (1.7m above floor level), obscure glazed or omitted, and the SPD says using the roof of an extension as a balcony will normally be unacceptable. A two storey side extension is shown sited 1m from the side boundary.

The council's validation checklist asks for the council's own declaration for householder extensions in Flood Zones 2 and 3, or a site-specific flood risk assessment, or the application is invalid. It also asks for a room-by-room internal and external schedule of works, and a CIL form is compulsory with every householder application. Richmond has 85 conservation areas, and street-by-street Article 4 directions control extensions in some of them. The 2015 SPD is what the council lists as current guidance, as checked on 14 October 2026.

Richmond upon Thames guidance · rear depth

How deep Richmond upon Thames expects a single-storey rear extension to be

Terraced3 mSemi-detached3.5 mDetached4 mDepth beyond the original rear wall · dashed line: permitted development
Source: House Extensions and External Alterations SPD. The marker shows the national permitted development depth (GPDO 2015, Schedule 2, Part 1, Class A, A.1(f): 4 m detached, 3 m otherwise), which applies only where no application is needed.
Permitted development · Class A

How far a single-storey rear extension can go before it needs more than a drawing

Terraced or semi-detached

Existing houseNo applicationPrior approvalPlanning application3 m6 mDepth beyond the original rear wall

Detached

Existing houseNo applicationPrior approvalPlanning application4 m8 mDepth beyond the original rear wall

Height, side view

HouseBoundary2 m4 m maxoverall height3 m eaveswithin 2 m of boundary
Source: GPDO 2015, Schedule 2, Part 1, Class A: A.1(f) (3 m, or 4 m if detached; 4 m high), A.1(g) (6 m, or 8 m if detached; not on article 2(3) land such as conservation areas, nor on a site of special scientific interest), A.1(i) (eaves over 3 m within 2 m of a boundary) and the prior approval procedure in A.4. Terraced and semi-detached houses are the “any other dwellinghouse” case. Other conditions still apply: check the permission section and run the checker.
PS2 · at a glance

Richmond upon Thames: 1,302 householder decisions

Richmond upon Thames
Approvals, prior approvals included83.3%

1,085 of 1,302 granted. London: 85.8%.

Decided within 8 weeks98.7%

923 of 935 applications, prior approvals excluded.

Source: MHCLG PS2, 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. Dark tick: London.
A bright kitchen with white cabinets, a stainless steel range cooker and extractor hood, and a window over the sink
A kitchen in a rear extension: the wide opening into it from the old house is carried by a beam. Photo: Curtis Adams / Pexels.

What it costs in Richmond upon Thames

  • Planning drawings: £895, plus £548 to Richmond upon Thames Council.
  • Building regulations drawings: £795.

House extension plans across London · Richmond upon Thames planning rules · every price

Answers

Richmond upon Thames house extension questions

How far can a single-storey rear extension project in Richmond?
The SPD says the effect of a single storey extension is usually acceptable if the projection is no further than 3m for a terraced property, 3.5m for a semi-detached house and 4m for a detached property. The final test of acceptability depends on the particular circumstances of the site, which may justify greater rear projection.
How high can a Victorian side infill be in Richmond?
Where the depth exceeds 3m, 3.5m or 4m, the eaves height should be limited to 2.2m. The SPD says infill extensions to Victorian properties are fairly typical in the borough, and the limit is there to mitigate the sense of enclosure. Windows facing a neighbouring house or garden should be high level (1.7m above floor level), obscure glazed or omitted.
How far from the boundary must a two-storey side extension be in Richmond?
The SPD says two storey side extensions should be sited 1m from the side boundary. Where a side extension is to be subordinate, it is usually desirable to set it back at least 1 metre behind the front elevation. Using the roof of an extension as a balcony will normally be unacceptable.

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