Side-Return Extension in Ealing, Approved First Time
How we secured first-time householder approval for a side-return and rear extension on an Edwardian terrace in Ealing — drawings, structural calculations and the council result.
- Borough
- Ealing
- Property
- Edwardian mid-terrace
- Application
- Householder planning application
- Package
- Planning + building regs + structural
- Outcome
- Approved first time, no amendments
An Edwardian terrace off Northfields wanted the classic Ealing move: a side-return infill combined with a modest rear extension to create an open-plan kitchen-diner opening onto the garden. The owners had been quoted heavily by an architect and wanted the same result on a fixed fee.
We surveyed the property, checked it fell outside the nearest conservation area, and confirmed the rear depth sat within householder tolerances rather than triggering a larger-home prior approval.
What follows is how the application was scoped, drawn and carried to a first-time approval — a pattern we repeat across Ealing's Edwardian and Victorian terraces.
Confirming the route before we drew anything
Before committing to a design we checked the property against Ealing's permitted development thresholds and the borough-wide Article 4 direction on HMO conversions. The side-return combined with a 3-metre rear extension sat within householder tolerances and outside the nearest conservation area, so a single householder planning application — rather than a larger-home prior approval or a full application — was the fastest lawful route. Confirming that first saved the owners weeks of avoidable process.
What the Ealing application involved
The design widened the ground floor into the side alley and extended 3 metres to the rear, keeping within the 45-degree neighbour daylight lines on both sides. We drew existing and proposed plans, elevations and sections to Ealing's validation standard, and produced the structural calculations for the new steel in-house.
The drawing package we produced
Ealing validated the application on a complete, coordinated set: a 1:1250 location plan, a block plan, and existing and proposed floor plans, elevations and sections at 1:100 and 1:50. The steel over the new ground-floor opening was sized in-house, so the structural calculations matched the drawings exactly and the builder could price the whole job from a single package rather than waiting on a separately-appointed engineer.
Why the approval came without amendments
Two things kept the application clean. The proposed drawings respected the 45-degree daylight lines to both neighbours, and every sheet matched the borough's validation checklist before submission. There was nothing for the officer to query on scale, daylight or documentation, so the application was approved at the statutory 8-week point with no revisions — and, because the fee was fixed, at no extra cost to the owners.
The result
Validated without a query and approved at 8 weeks with no amendments. Because the structural package was drawn alongside the planning set, the owners moved straight to building regulations and onto site without waiting on a separate engineer.
See our House Extension Drawings in Ealing page, or House Extension Drawings across London.
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