Rear extension on an interwar semi in Greenford UB6, planning drawings for Ealing Council approval

Greenford · UB6 · Ealing

Dormer Loft Conversion Drawings in Greenford UB6

Fixed-fee, MCIAT-chartered dormer loft conversion drawings for Greenford (UB6) homeowners — London Borough of Ealing validation and local constraints handled from the start.

Greenford (UB6) is classic outer-west-London Metro-land: broad avenues of interwar semis with deep gardens, ideal for rear and wraparound kitchen extensions, loft conversions with rear dormers, and garage-to-room conversions. Most householder projects here fall squarely within permitted development or a straightforward Ealing Council householder application.

The one sensitivity is the Canalside conservation area on the neighbourhood's north-west flank near the Grand Union, where materials and rear massing get closer scrutiny. We prepare drawings that hold the interwar building line and gap-to-boundary rhythm Ealing's officers expect, and flag any canal-edge or former-industrial plot early so ground and drainage issues are designed out.

Proposed floor plan

Greenford UB6

Greenford (UB6) — planning at a glance

Council: London Borough of Ealing
Postcode district: UB6
Planning portal: View the Ealing planning portal
Housing stock: Greenford is dominated by 1920s-30s bay-fronted semis and short terraces laid out along wide suburban avenues, many with generous rear gardens and original hipped roofs. Nearer the Grand Union Canal and the old Rockware/Lyon works, plots give way to former industrial land and later flat-roofed infill.
Article 4: London Borough of Ealing does not publish its Article 4 directions to the national planning register, so permitted development rights in Greenford (UB6) can’t be confirmed from open data alone — we check the direction schedule with the council before recommending a route, as part of the fixed fee. No published householder Article 4 in Greenford; the main control is the canalside conservation area to the north-west and the industrial fringe along the Grand Union
Conservation: Canalside (north-west part)
Sample streets: Oldfield Lane North · The Fairway · Costons Avenue · Rockware Avenue
Local constraints: Canalside conservation-area control on the north-west edge affecting works visible from the Grand Union corridorInterwar semis where side-return and rear extensions must respect the established building line and gaps between pairsIndustrial and former-works land near the canal carrying potential contamination and drainage considerationsMature street trees on avenues such as The Fairway that may be TPO-protected

Planning in Greenford (UB6): what to know before you apply

No published householder Article 4 direction in Greenford, so most extensions and lofts run under permitted development or a standard Ealing householder application. Properties bordering the Canalside conservation area lose some permitted-development rights, and rear/side extension depths are assessed against the neighbouring semis' building line.

Typical Greenford housing stock

Greenford is dominated by 1920s-30s bay-fronted semis and short terraces laid out along wide suburban avenues, many with generous rear gardens and original hipped roofs. Nearer the Grand Union Canal and the old Rockware/Lyon works, plots give way to former industrial land and later flat-roofed infill.

Streets we regularly draw for in Greenford

Oldfield Lane North · The Fairway · Costons Avenue · Rockware Avenue

What UB6 is actually built of

Measured from 299 classified residential buildings in UB6, not from a description of the area.

Greenford UB6 housing mix

Residential building form across the UB6 postcode district, from 299 classified buildings.

Attached on more than one side	44%
Attached on one side	54%
Detached	2%
Median building footprint	62 m²
Addresses per buildingAbove about 2 means flats and maisonettes dominate	1.52
Buildings classified	299

Source: Ordnance Survey National Geographic Database (derived statistics). Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026. Extracted 2026-08-17.

Dormer Loft Conversion Drawings for Greenford (UB6) homes: the package and the process

A rear dormer is drawn to a tight set of geometric tests: the volume it adds, its set-back from the eaves, whether it sits below the ridge line, and how it meets the roof slope at the sides. Each of those is a dimension on the drawing rather than a description, because that is how the case is assessed.

Side-facing windows and the cheek treatment are where dormer schemes most often attract conditions. We show glazing type and opening restrictors on the elevations, and detail the cheeks and roof junction on the section, so the approved drawing is one your builder can work from without reinterpretation.

The rear roof slope is the whole opportunity. A house with a rear outrigger can carry an L-shaped dormer over both roofs, while a simple double-pitch roof takes a box dormer and nothing more — and a shallow pitch may not give usable height under either.

Is a rear dormer loft conversion permitted development in London?

A single rear dormer is the loft conversion most likely to qualify as permitted development in London, provided it stays within the volume allowance — 40 cubic metres for terraced houses, 50 cubic metres for detached and semi-detached homes. The dormer must not extend beyond the highest part of the existing roof, should be set back from the eaves where practical, and is normally finished in materials that match the existing roof. Where the numbers work, we recommend a Lawful Development Certificate rather than a full planning application, because it is faster and gives you a legal record that the work was lawful.

Box dormer or L-shaped dormer — which suits a London terrace?

A box dormer is a simple flat-roofed addition set into the rear roof slope, adding headroom and floor area over the main roof void. An L-shaped dormer links that main-slope dormer to a second dormer over the rear closet wing — the small rear addition found on most Victorian and Edwardian London terraces — and is popular because it captures far more usable space over the stairwell for a similar planning risk. Both are generally assessed the same way for permitted development, but the closet-wing element of an L-shaped dormer needs its own structural support, which we detail on the drawings and coordinate with the structural calculations.

Box dormer: single flat-roofed addition on the main rear slope
L-shaped dormer: main-slope dormer combined with a closet-wing dormer
Both are typically finished in matching brick, tile-hung or render to suit the host roof

Do front dormers need planning permission?

Permitted development for roof alterations generally excludes elevations that front a highway, so a dormer on the front roof slope facing the street almost always needs a full householder planning application, even where a rear dormer on the same house would be permitted development. Front dormers are also more visible to the council and to neighbours, so proportion, materials and set-back from the ridge and eaves carry more weight in the assessment. We draw front dormers to sit comfortably within the roofline rather than dominating it, which is what most validation teams are looking for, and where a front dormer alone will not deliver the space you need, we assess whether combining it with a rear dormer or rebuilding the rear slope as a mansard makes more sense.

Typical dormer loft conversion drawing packages
Dormer type	Typical route	Structural scope	Fee from
Single rear box dormer	Permitted development / LDC	Standard joist and beam upgrade	£1,100
L-shaped rear dormer	Permitted development / LDC	Additional closet-wing support	£1,300
Front dormer	Householder planning	Standard joist and beam upgrade	£1,600
Dormer in a conservation area	Householder planning	Standard joist and beam upgrade	£1,600

Sheet from a dormer loft conversion drawings package drawn for a Greenford property in UB6, showing the existing and proposed arrangement at scale — A sheet from the dormer loft conversion drawings package we submit to London Borough of Ealing for Greenford (UB6) properties.

Also in Greenford UB6

Planning Permission Planning Drawings Architectural Drawings Building Regulations Drawings Loft Conversion Drawings Dormer Loft Conversion Drawings across Ealing Dormer Loft Conversion Drawings across London

FAQ

Dormer Loft Conversion Drawings in Greenford UB6 — FAQs

How much do dormer loft conversion drawings cost in London?+

A single rear box dormer on the permitted development route typically starts around £1,100 for a full drawing set. L-shaped and front dormers cost more because of the extra structural design and, for front dormers, the planning application itself — we quote a fixed fee once we have seen your roof.

Is my dormer definitely permitted development?+

Not automatically — it depends on the volume you are adding, which elevation the dormer sits on, and whether a conservation area or Article 4 direction applies to your address. We check this free before recommending a route, and if a previous loft or roof extension has already used up part of your allowance, we factor that into the calculation too.

How long do dormer loft conversion drawings take?+

Typically around 7 days from survey to a full drawing set delivered to your online portal, whether you are going down the Lawful Development Certificate route or full planning.

Will I need an architect for a dormer loft conversion?+

No — as MCIAT-chartered architectural technologists we produce the same council-accepted drawings an architect would, typically at a lower fee, with structural calculations coordinated in-house.

What if my roof suits a different loft conversion type?+

If your roof is hipped, a hip-to-gable conversion may add more space than a dormer alone; if you are in a conservation area needing a full rebuild of the roof slope, a mansard may suit better. We assess your roof against all three before recommending one.

Do I need planning permission for a rear extension in Ealing?+

Many Ealing semis and terraces keep permitted development rights for a single-storey rear extension, so a full application isn't always needed. But the borough-wide Article 4 direction on HMO conversions, and conservation areas such as Bedford Park and Pitshanger, remove or restrict those rights in places. We check your address against the designations first and, where it qualifies, confirm permitted development with a Lawful Development Certificate.

What extra control applies in Bedford Park?+

Bedford Park is one of West London's most tightly controlled conservation areas, with detailed control over materials, rooflines, windows and front elevations. A standard permitted-development dormer or cladding change usually won't apply; instead we design to the area's Arts-and-Crafts character and prepare a full householder application with the elevations and materials the council expects — the reliable route to approval there.

How long does Ealing Council take to decide a householder application?+

Ealing determines most householder applications within the statutory eight-week period once they are validated. The commonest cause of delay is a validation query over missing or inconsistent drawings, so we prepare Ealing submissions to the council's validation checklist — correctly scaled existing and proposed plans, elevations and a location plan — to avoid that back-and-forth.

Can you help with a loft conversion on a 1930s Ealing semi?+

Yes. Ealing's Metro-land semis in Perivale, Greenford and Northolt suit hip-to-gable and dormer loft conversions, which frequently qualify as permitted development on semi-detached homes within the volume limits. We confirm eligibility against those limits and any Article 4 or conservation constraint, then produce the planning and building-regulations drawings.

How much do planning drawings cost in Ealing?+

We work to a fixed fee agreed before we start, typically around 30% below an architect's charge for the same council-accepted drawings, with free redraws until Ealing grants approval. The exact figure depends on the project — a single-storey rear extension differs from a double-storey or a loft — so we quote once we understand your scheme rather than on an open-ended hourly basis.

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