Double Storey Extension Drawings in Nunhead SE15
Fixed-fee, MCIAT-chartered double storey extension drawings for Nunhead (SE15) homeowners — London Borough of Southwark validation and local constraints handled from the start.
Nunhead (SE15) is a largely Victorian terraced neighbourhood on the rising ground between Nunhead Cemetery and Peckham Rye, and as the area has gentrified the demand has shifted firmly toward side-return, rear and loft extensions on family houses. Because so many properties share the same terraced footprint, Southwark's design expectations for extension depth and dormers here are well established.
Conservation pockets around Nunhead Cemetery, Nunhead Green and Telegraph Hill bring tighter control over roof form, materials and frontages than the surrounding streets carry. We check where a Nunhead property sits relative to those boundaries before recommending a permitted-development or full-application route, and draw the scheme to Southwark's residential guidance so it is assessed cleanly.
Planning in Nunhead (SE15): what to know before you apply
SE15 has no published householder Article 4 direction affecting typical Nunhead work, so many houses retain permitted development rights for rear and loft projects — but the conservation pockets around Nunhead Cemetery, Nunhead Green and Telegraph Hill are the exceptions where roof and frontage changes are more closely controlled.
Typical Nunhead housing stock
Victorian and Edwardian terraces on the streets rising between Nunhead Cemetery and Peckham Rye, largely two-storey family houses with rear gardens, plus a share of houses converted into flats.
Streets we regularly draw for in Nunhead
Solway Road · Kinsale Road · Dovedale Road · Mundania Road
Double Storey Extension Drawings for Nunhead (SE15) homes: the package and the process
Every double storey extension drawings we prepare for an Nunhead property is drawn to London Borough of Southwark’s validation standards and tuned to the SE15 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 Nunhead SE15 — FAQs
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