Hackney Council planning guide: what the checklists ask for, and which report answers each item
Hackney publishes more than one validation checklist, and they were written years apart. The householder checklist is headed October 2009; the general planning checklist, which also covers householder applications, is the newer of the two. Read together they decide whether your drawings are accepted on the first attempt. This guide sorts them into what a home extension or loft actually triggers, with the report for each. Start with a planning constraints report for your address, £19.
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What Hackney's Local Plan asks of an extension
Hackney Council adopted the Local Plan 2033 (LP33) at Full Council on 22 July 2020, and it is the plan the case officer reads your drawings against. Two policies matter most for household work. Our Hackney planning permission page covers drawings for applications in the borough.
Policy LP17 (Housing Design) says the council “will expect all homes and extensions to existing properties to be of high quality design”. Its part D adds that “residential extensions and alterations schemes should have regard to the Residential Extensions and Alterations SPD”. The plan itself notes that the 2009 version of that guidance was due to be replaced, so check which edition the council currently lists before you design to it.
Policy LP1 (Design Quality and Local Character) applies to all development. It says development will be permitted only if it meets every one of its criteria, including that it should “respond to local character and context having regard to the boroughwide Characterisation Study” and “preserve or enhance the significance of the historic environment and the setting of heritage assets”. In practice the second test is why a Victorian terrace needs more evidence than a 1990s semi.
Hackney Council Planning Guide
from £19
Every price is the full fixed fee you pay. No VAT is charged. Council application fees are paid to the council separately.
What you get
- A plain reading of Hackney's householder and general validation checklists
- The Local Plan 2033 policies on extensions, quoted from the plan
- Which reports your address triggers, each linked to its own fixed-fee page
- Conservation area, tree and Article 4 points for Hackney in one place
- A planning constraints report for your address from £19
- Fixed fees shown before you ask, and no VAT charged
- Check the address
Conservation area, listing, Article 4 and Critical Drainage Area decide which extra documents you need.
- Draw to the file rules
PDFs at A3 or smaller, a scale bar showing 1 metre and 10 metres, key dimensions and a north point.
- Show the neighbours
Elevations next to another building must show the openings on each property.
- Add what the site triggers
Heritage, tree, daylight or flood documents are added only where your address needs them.
Hackney's checklists were written at different times
On its submit your planning application page, Hackney links a validation checklist for householder applications. The document itself is headed October 2009. It treats existing and proposed elevations, floor plans, site sections and roof plans, all at 1:50 or 1:100, as required, asks for blank elevations to be included, and says that where an elevation adjoins another building the drawing should show the position of the openings on each property.
The same page links a general validation checklist, which says it applies to householder planning consent as well as full applications. It is the newer of the two: it refers to the Biodiversity Gain regulations of 2024. Where the two disagree, follow the newer one. It sets a maximum of 20 MB per file where the 2009 checklist says 5mb, wants drawings that print at A3 or smaller, and wants every drawing to carry its print size, a scale bar showing one metre and ten metres, key dimensions and a north point.
The general checklist also asks for descriptive file names that carry the drawing number, such as “Proposed Roof Plan - BK2024”. Those are small points, but a set that ignores them is the kind that comes back for correction. Our planning drawings and house extension drawings are set out to these rules from the start.
The general checklist asks for a flood risk assessment for development in Environment Agency Flood Zones 2 and 3, and for all development in Flood Zone 1 that sits in a Critical Drainage Area.
Conservation areas, trees and Article 4 in Hackney
Hackney's conservation areas page says there are now 35 across the borough. In one, the council says you “will need to demonstrate that any development proposal preserves or enhances the character” of the area. A heritage statement is required when the development is within a conservation area or affects its setting, or when it affects a listed building. A design and access statement is only required for a home in a conservation area or a listed building, and our heritage statement and design and access statement pages cover both.
Trees in a conservation area carry a separate rule: the council asks for six weeks’ notice, in writing, before any work is done on them. The householder checklist asks for a tree plan and a report to BS 5837 where works affect trees protected by a Tree Preservation Order or conservation area rules, and the general checklist widens that to any tree on or off the site. See tree surveys for planning.
The council’s Article 4 Directions page lists 12 directions, one of them only proposed. Most concern change of use to housing, but four cover conservation areas: Brownswood, Well Street, Beck Road and Shacklewell Green. The Shacklewell Green direction removes the Schedule 2 Part 1 rights, Classes A to H, for named properties on April Street, Perch Street, Seal Street and Shacklewell Lane. Where a direction applies, work you could otherwise do without an application needs one.
Daylight: Hackney measures with VSC, not ADF
Hackney’s own daylight note, dated May 2010, says the council requires studies to use the Vertical Sky Component measurement from the BRE guide and does “not accept Average Daylight Factor (ADF) measurements”. The householder checklist says a study is required if a proposal is likely to have an adverse effect on light to neighbouring sensitive uses, and the general checklist asks for one where a proposal may have an adverse impact on the daylight or sunlight of neighbours.
For a rear extension on a terrace the practical test is whether the new wall sits close to a neighbour’s window. If it does, ask for a daylight check before you draw further. Our daylight and sunlight report is prepared from your drawings in the VSC method Hackney names.
Flood zones, Critical Drainage Areas and basements
The general checklist asks for a flood risk assessment for development in Environment Agency Flood Zones 2 and 3, and for all development in Flood Zone 1 that sits in a Critical Drainage Area. It also names basement development in Critical Drainage Areas and in areas with a high risk of surface water or groundwater flooding. The older householder checklist is narrower and ties the assessment to basement or ground floor extensions in a flood zone.
So a loft conversion can need no flood document at one address and a full assessment at another a street away. A planning constraints report shows the flood zone for your address, and a flood risk assessment answers the checklist item. If you are digging down, a basement feasibility visit comes before drawings.
Smaller items that catch householders out
The general checklist exempts householder applications from the draft Biodiversity Gain Plan, so you need not produce one for an extension. It does ask for a Fire Safety Reasonable Exception Statement on every application where the applicant does not think a Fire Statement is required, which is nearly all household work. Our fire safety statement page covers it.
Two more are easy to miss. A Schedule of Materials and Finishes is required when the development is in a conservation area or affects a listed building, and photographs or photomontages are required where a conservation area or listed building is affected. A Community Infrastructure Levy form is part of the national requirements on every application.
Building control and party wall
Planning permission does not replace building regulations. Hackney’s building control service offers three application types: full plans, building notice and regularisation. Our building regulations reports guide sorts them by where your project stands, and the building regulations drawings page covers the set that goes to building control.
A shared wall with a neighbour brings in the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, which runs alongside planning. Our party wall services guide explains the notices.
Sources
Every figure on this page, where it comes from and a link to the original.
| Figure | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| 22 July 2020 | Hackney Council, Local Plan 2033 (LP33) page: (source wording: "Hackney Council adopted LP33 at Full Council on 22 July 2020.") | hackney.gov.uk |
| high quality design | Hackney Local Plan 2033 (adopted July 2020), Policy LP17 Housing Design, part A: (source wording: "The Council will expect all homes and extensions to existing properties to be of high quality design"); part D asks that extension schemes have regard to the Residential Extensions and Alterations SPD | drive.google.com |
| October 2009 | Hackney Planning Service, Householder Application Validation Checklist: the document is dated October 2009 and is the checklist the council links as its validation checklist for householder planning applications; it sets a maximum file size of 5mb | drive.google.com |
| 20 MB | Hackney Planning Application Validation Checklist (general; applies to householder planning consent): (source wording: "Maximum file size is 20mb."); drawings must print at A3 or smaller | docs.google.com |
| 35 | Hackney Council, conservation areas page: (source wording: "There are now 35 across the borough.") | hackney.gov.uk |
| six weeks | Hackney Council, conservation areas page: (source wording: "you must give us six weeks notice, in writing, before any work is done on trees in conservation areas") | hackney.gov.uk |
| 12 directions | Hackney Council, Article 4 Directions page: the page lists 12 directions, one of which (Ridley Road) is only proposed; four relate to conservation areas (Brownswood, Well Street, Beck Road, Shacklewell Green) | hackney.gov.uk |
| Vertical Sky Component | Hackney Planning Service, Sunlight / Daylight Studies note (May 2010): (source wording: "we require studies to use the Vertical Sky Component (VSC) measurement set out in the BRE guide. We do not accept Average Daylight Factor (ADF) measurements.") | drive.google.com |
| Critical Drainage Area | Hackney Planning Application Validation Checklist, Flood Risk Assessment (FRA): required for (source wording: "All development in flood zone 1 located in a Critical Drainage Area"), and for development in Flood Zones 2 and 3 | docs.google.com |
| draft Biodiversity Gain Plan | Hackney Planning Application Validation Checklist, Draft Biodiversity Gain Plan: required where the Biodiversity Gain Requirements (Exemptions) Regulations 2024 do not apply; the exemptions listed include (source wording: "Householder Planning Applications") | docs.google.com |
Every report on this page, with its fixed fee
| Report | Fixed fee | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Planning constraints report | £19 | Conservation area, listing, Article 4 and flood zone checked for your address Written up on fixedfeeplans.co.uk. |
| Heritage statements | £595 | For listed buildings and homes in a Hackney conservation area Written up on fixedfeeplans.co.uk. |
| Design and access statements | £245 | Hackney asks for one in a conservation area or for a listed building Written up on fixedfeeplans.co.uk. |
| Daylight and sunlight reports | £895 | Where a scheme may harm a neighbour's light, using Hackney's VSC method Written up on www.propertyarchitecture.co.uk. |
| Flood risk assessments | £395 | For flood zones, Critical Drainage Areas and basements Written up on fixedfeeplans.co.uk. |
| Tree surveys for planning | £445 | Where works affect trees on or off the site Written up on www.propertyarchitecture.co.uk. |
| Fire safety statements | £135 | Hackney wants a reasoned exception statement where no fire statement is needed Written up on fixedfeeplans.co.uk. |
| Building regulations reports | £225 | Which building regulations report fits your project |
| Party wall services | £45 | Notices under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 for terraces and semis |
Questions people ask
Which Hackney checklist applies to a house extension?
Does Hackney accept a daylight study using ADF?
Do I need a design and access statement for a loft in Hackney?
Does a householder application need a biodiversity gain plan in Hackney?
Can I cut a tree in a Hackney conservation area?
Photographs: Chris Whippet (CC BY-SA 2.0).
