Garage conversion drawings in Hither Green
Converting a Hither Green garage can need no planning permission if the works affect only the interior of the building, or do not materially change its external appearance, because the Town and Country Planning Act says such works are not development. DrawingsDirect draws garage conversions on the permitted development route from £645 with no VAT to add.
Fixed fee from £445 drawings + £200 survey (£645 total) · all prices
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The interior-only rule
The Town and Country Planning Act says that works which affect only the interior of a building, or which do not materially affect its external appearance, are not development. A garage that is simply fitted out inside falls on the right side of that line.
The test turns on the outside. A new window where the up-and-over door was, or a changed roofline, alters the external appearance, and that is where a garage conversion stops being simple.
When the outside changes
If the front opening is bricked up and glazed, or the building is extended, check whether it still fits permitted development or needs an application. The council fee for a householder application is £548, separate from the drawing fee.
Lewisham decided 578 householder applications in the latest four quarters and granted 89%. Of the householder decisions, 95% were made within eight weeks.
Lewisham decided 722 over eight quarters.
Appeals and conservation areas
Lewisham has 162 householder appeals decided, with 30% allowed. The national planning data lists 30 live conservation-area entries for the borough, so confirm on the council's map whether your street is inside one.
A certificate for the record
A certificate of lawful development is written proof that a conversion did not need permission. Lewisham decided 722 over eight quarters. Garage conversion drawings on the permitted development route start at £645 with no VAT to add, published on the pricing page.
Sources
Every figure on this page, where it comes from and a link to the original.
| Figure | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| £645 | DrawingsDirect starting fixed fee for garage conversion drawings (permitted development route), with no VAT to add, from the published price list | drawingsdirect.co.uk |
| only the interior | Town and Country Planning Act 1990 s55(2)(a): works that affect only the interior of a building, or do not materially affect its external appearance, are not development (source wording: "affect only the interior of the building, or") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| £548 | Fees for planning applications in England from 1 April 2026 (MHCLG, SI 2012/2920 as annually indexed), category 6(1): householder application for the enlargement, improvement or alteration of a single dwellinghouse (source wording: £548) | assets.publishing.service.gov.uk |
| 578 | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |
| 89% | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |
| 95% | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |
| 162 | Our analysis of Planning Inspectorate Casework Database (released 1 Oct 2026 (Casework Database 2609)) | www.gov.uk |
| 30% | Our analysis of Planning Inspectorate Casework Database (released 1 Oct 2026 (Casework Database 2609)) | www.gov.uk |
| 30 | Our analysis of MHCLG Planning Data Platform conservation-area and article-4-direction datasets (bulk snapshot retrieved 14 Aug 2026) | www.planning.data.gov.uk |
| 722 | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS1 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |