Double Storey Extension Drawings in North Kensington W10
Fixed-fee, MCIAT-chartered double storey extension drawings for North Kensington (W10) homeowners — Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea validation and local constraints handled from the start.
North Kensington (W10) in Kensington and Chelsea is a district of two halves. The Oxford Gardens conservation area covers a grid of late-Victorian terraces — some still whole houses, many subdivided into flats — while substantial post-war estates make up much of the rest, and Kensal Green Cemetery's landscape conservation area forms the northern edge.
Kensington and Chelsea layers its Article 4 directions more tightly than most boroughs, and two of them decide the shape of a typical W10 job. One covers basements, so the lower-ground excavation that is the borough's signature project needs a full planning application rather than permitted development. The other covers minor alterations in conservation areas including works to windows — which means something as modest as replacing windows on an Oxford Gardens frontage needs permission. A third removes permitted development rights for commercial to residential conversion. We establish which directions bite on an address, and whether it is a house or a flat, before drawing to the borough's guidance.
Planning in North Kensington (W10): what to know before you apply
W10 is covered by several Kensington and Chelsea Article 4 directions. One removes permitted development rights for basements, so excavation needs a full planning application. Another covers minor alterations in conservation areas including works to windows, so even window replacement on a protected frontage needs permission. A third removes permitted development rights for commercial to residential conversion. Two conservation areas apply — Oxford Gardens, covering the late-Victorian terrace grid, and Kensal Green Cemetery, protecting the landscape setting. Substantial parts of the district are post-war estate flats, which carry no permitted development rights at all.
Typical North Kensington housing stock
Late-Victorian terraces on the Oxford Gardens grid, a mix of whole houses and subdivided flats, set alongside substantial post-war estates and the open landscape of Kensal Green Cemetery to the north.
Streets we regularly draw for in North Kensington
Ladbroke Grove · Golborne Road · Oxford Gardens · St Quintin Avenue
Double Storey Extension Drawings for North Kensington (W10) homes: the package and the process
Every double storey extension drawings we prepare for an North Kensington property is drawn to Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s validation standards and tuned to the W10 constraints above. Here is what the drawing package covers and how the process runs from first survey to approval.
A double storey extension builds a second floor above a single-storey side or rear addition, typically adding a bedroom and bathroom upstairs over a widened kitchen or reception room below. Because the foundations and roof of a single-storey extension already carry most of the fixed cost of building, adding a floor on top is often the most cost-effective way to gain two rooms rather than two separate projects. The trade-off is scrutiny: a two-storey addition sits closer to eye level with neighbouring windows and gardens, so councils examine massing, roofline and boundary distance more closely than they would a single-storey extension.
DrawingsDirect draws double storey side and rear extensions for full planning and building regulations, with structural calculations for the additional floor load and foundations produced in-house by our MCIAT-chartered team, on a fixed fee. If a single storey is enough, see our Rear Extension and Side Return Extension pages, or combine both with a Wraparound if you are extending sideways as well as up.
Do I need planning permission for a double storey extension in London?
Almost always. Permitted development rights for two-storey extensions are far more restrictive than for single-storey work, particularly on how close the new structure can come to a boundary and how closely its roof pitch and eaves height must match the existing house, so most double storey projects are drawn and submitted as full householder planning applications rather than relying on permitted development.
Where the property sits in a conservation area or is subject to an Article 4 direction, any remaining permitted development allowance for a second storey is typically removed entirely, reinforcing the need for a full application. We check your property's status and your borough's design guidance before drawing.
How do councils control the impact of a double storey extension on neighbours?
Because a second storey introduces new windows and massing at first-floor level, London boroughs apply design guidance aimed specifically at protecting neighbouring light, privacy and outlook.
- The 45-degree rule, tested at neighbouring windows, to check the extension does not block an unreasonable amount of daylight
- A common design expectation that a two-storey side extension is set in roughly 1 metre from the shared boundary, rather than built hard against it
- A first floor commonly set back from the ground floor front elevation, so the upper storey reads as subordinate to the main house from the street
- Obscure or high-level glazing on flank walls facing directly into a neighbour's garden or windows, to limit overlooking
| Option | What it adds | Typical fee |
|---|---|---|
| Single-storey rear extension | A ground-floor kitchen-diner only, may qualify for permitted development | see Rear Extension Drawings, from £1,100 |
| Double storey side or rear extension | Two rooms across two floors, usually needs full planning | Full Planning pack ~£1,600–£2,400 |
| Double storey + Building Regulations (structural) | Combined pack including structural calculations for two-floor loads and foundations | Planning + Building Regs pack ~£2,200–£3,850 |
| Wraparound (rear + side return) | Combines two single-storey extensions into one L-shaped ground floor | see Wraparound Extension Drawings, from £2,200 |
Double Storey Extension Drawings in North Kensington W10 — FAQs
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