MCIAT chartered drawings · Fixed fees across all 33 London boroughs

Free 2026 London Planning ReportDouble Storey Extension Drawings in Hanwell W7

Rear extension drawings for a Victorian terrace in Hanwell W7, London Borough of Ealing
Hanwell · W7 · Ealing

Double Storey Extension Drawings in Hanwell W7

Fixed-fee, MCIAT-chartered double storey extension drawings for Hanwell (W7) homeowners — London Borough of Ealing validation and local constraints handled from the start.

Free Hanwell planning assessment

Tell us your Hanwell (W7) address and project. A fixed quote and free planning appraisal land within one working day.

No obligation · No spam · Reply within 1 working day

Hanwell (W7) keeps a genuine village feel around its green, with historic buildings on spacious, tree-filled plots giving way to consistent Victorian and Edwardian terraces on the surrounding streets. Rear and loft projects follow the familiar Ealing terrace pattern on most roads, but the conservation-area picture is more layered than it first looks.

The Hanwell Village Green conservation area protects the older core, while the St Mark's Church and Canal area runs along the Brent and the Grand Union Canal to the south. We establish which context a Hanwell property sits in — ordinary terrace, protected village core or canal-side setting — before drawing to the borough's guidance.

Rear extension drawings for a Victorian terrace in Hanwell W7, London Borough of Ealing
Isometric illustration of a Hanwell W7 home double storey extension drawings design
Proposed floor plan
Hanwell W7

Planning in Hanwell (W7): what to know before you apply

W7 carries no householder Article 4 direction affecting typical work, so many Hanwell houses retain permitted development rights for rear and loft projects — but the Hanwell Village Green, St Mark's Church and Canal, and Hanwell Cemeteries conservation areas are the exceptions where character, plots and trees are actively protected. London Borough of Ealing does not publish an Article 4 schedule to the national open-data register, so we verify the current position with the council before advising.

Typical Hanwell housing stock

Late-Victorian and Edwardian terraces and semi-detached houses across the district, older historic buildings on spacious plots around the village green, and larger houses in the Golden Manor enclave.

Streets we regularly draw for in Hanwell

Church Road · Boston Road · Golden Manor · Cuckoo Avenue · Green Lane

What W7 is actually built of

Measured from 410 classified residential buildings in W7, not from a description of the area.

Hanwell W7 housing mix

Residential building form across the W7 postcode district, from 410 classified buildings.

Attached on more than one side47%
Attached on one side50%
Detached3%
Median building footprint60 m²
Addresses per buildingAbove about 2 means flats and maisonettes dominate1.33
Buildings classified410

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.

Double Storey Extension Drawings for Hanwell (W7) homes: the package and the process

At first-floor level the drawings have to answer for daylight, privacy and massing. That means proposed elevations showing every new window with its position relative to the boundary, a section taken through the extension and the neighbouring building, and a roof form drawn to sit below the existing ridge rather than compete with it.

We draw the neighbouring property alongside your own, because the officer's assessment is comparative — the effect on their windows and outlook is the test. Setting the first floor in from the boundary, and showing that set-back as a dimension, resolves most objections before consultation begins.

At first floor the boundary relationship decides everything. A detached house has room to set the addition in on both sides; a semi has one shared wall and one clear flank; a mid-terrace can usually only go to the rear, where the effect on both neighbours has to be drawn.

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

Matching the roofline and materials

Planning officers assess a double storey extension heavily on how convincingly it reads as part of the original house rather than an addition bolted onto the side. Our drawings match ridge height, roof pitch, eaves detail and brick or render finish to the existing building wherever the design brief allows, which is consistently one of the strongest factors in securing approval without delay or redesign. Where a subtly contrasting material is proposed instead — a different brick tone, or a zinc or slate roof against a tiled original — we set it out clearly on the elevations so the design intent reads as deliberate rather than a mismatch, which is how most London boroughs prefer a genuine design statement to be presented.

Extending once vs twice: single versus double storey
OptionWhat it addsTypical fee
Single-storey rear extensionA ground-floor kitchen-diner only, may qualify for permitted developmentsee Rear Extension Drawings, from £1,100
Double storey side or rear extensionTwo rooms across two floors, usually needs full planningFull Planning pack ~£1,600–£2,400
Double storey + Building Regulations (structural)Combined pack including structural calculations for two-floor loads and foundationsPlanning + Building Regs pack ~£2,200–£3,850
Wraparound (rear + side return)Combines two single-storey extensions into one L-shaped ground floorsee Wraparound Extension Drawings, from £2,200
Sheet from a double storey extension drawings package drawn for a Hanwell property in W7, showing the existing and proposed arrangement at scale
A sheet from the double storey extension drawings package we submit to London Borough of Ealing for Hanwell (W7) properties.
FAQ

Double Storey Extension Drawings in Hanwell W7 — FAQs

How much does a double storey extension cost to design in London?+
Double storey extension drawings start from £2,400, covering full planning permission and structural design for the additional floor. A combined planning and building regulations package with full structural calculations runs up to around £3,850, fixed and agreed upfront.
Do I need planning permission to add a second storey?+
In almost all cases, yes. Permitted development rights for two-storey extensions are much tighter than for single-storey work, particularly around boundary distance and roof matching, so we design double storey projects on the assumption a full householder planning application is required.
Will a double storey extension overlook my neighbour's garden?+
That is exactly what planning officers check, using the 45-degree daylight rule alongside boundary set-in and first-floor set-back guidance. Where a new flank window would look directly into a neighbour's garden, we typically specify obscure or high-level glazing to address it before submission rather than after an objection.
Do I need an architect for a double storey extension?+
No. DrawingsDirect is an MCIAT-chartered architectural technologist practice, producing the same council-accepted drawings and in-house structural coordination as an architect, for a fixed fee typically around 30% lower, with structural calculations for the additional floor produced by the same team rather than a separately appointed engineer.
How long does it take to get double storey extension drawings?+
Drawings are typically ready around 7 days from survey. A householder planning application then has a statutory 8-week determination period once submitted.
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.
Free Fixed Quote

Get your free Hanwell planning assessment

Tell us your Hanwell (W7) address and ambition — we'll confirm feasibility, local constraints and a fixed fee within one working day.