Planning and building regulation drawings in Lee (SE12)
Walk from Lee station up toward Old Road and the streets read like a set piece from a different century: the odd French-mansard roofline breaking the skyline on Micheldever Road. That last detail matters more than it looks. Those mansard houses are protected by name, and any homeowner planning to touch a roof there needs to know it before a builder ever picks up a tape measure.
- MCIAT chartered technologists
- London Borough of Lewisham granted 90% of 637 householder applications
- Drawings in about 7 days
Most of the district isn't under that level of scrutiny, though. Around Burnt Ash Road the housing turns inter-war and post-war, with side returns and rear gardens that behave the way side returns and rear gardens usually do: they invite a single-storey kitchen extension or a loft conversion with barely a second thought from planning. Manor Lane and Northbrook Road add more of that same Victorian stock into the district's mix.
What ties the district together is the Lee Manor Conservation Area, which wraps a good part of the Victorian core. Inside its boundary, window replacements, render, and roof alterations all get read against a design brief the council actually enforces, not just a suggestion. Outside it, on the later Burnt Ash Road stock, the same job might be entirely permitted development. We've drawn both kinds of job here and the first question we ask a Lee client is always the same: is your street inside the line or not, because the answer changes what's achievable and how long it takes.
The front boundaries along these streets also carry weight. Consistent front gardens and shared building lines mean a side extension or a driveway conversion gets judged on how well it keeps that rhythm, conservation area or not.
Planning in Lee: what to know before you apply
Lewisham runs its conservation controls tightly in Lee Manor: materials, window proportions and roofline changes all get checked against what's already there. The Micheldever Road mansard terraces carry an additional direction on top of that, removing some of the permitted development rights an equivalent Victorian house elsewhere in the district would still have. Everywhere else in SE12, side-return and loft projects on the later terraces and semis tend to move faster through the system, because more of that work falls inside permitted development rather than needing a full application. We check the designation against your specific address before we draw a single line, since two houses on the same road can sit on opposite sides of that boundary.
Applications are decided by London Borough of Lewisham — its planning pages.
Does your Lee project need planning permission?
Lee (SE12) in numbers
What London Borough of Lewisham has decided, and what SE12 is built of — the two facts that shape every job here.
Householder planning decisions — London Borough of Lewisham
Lee (SE12) applications are decided by London Borough of Lewisham; these are its published householder figures for the last four quarters.
| Householder applications decided2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 | 637 |
|---|---|
| Granted | 576 |
| Refused | 61 |
| Grantedof 637 decisions · England 90% | 90% |
| Decided within 8 weeksof 464, excluding prior approvals | 95% |
Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (PS2 district planning application statistics). Open Government Licence v3.0 Extracted 2026-09-22.
Permitted development prior approvals — London Borough of Lewisham
How the larger-home-extension route has fared with London Borough of Lewisham, which decides SE12 notifications.
| Larger home extension prior approvals — not required2024 Q2 to 2026 Q1 | 103 |
|---|---|
| Prior approval granted | 4 |
| Prior approval refused | 71 |
| Grantedof 75 determined | 5% |
Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (PS1 district planning application statistics). Open Government Licence v3.0 Extracted 2026-09-22.
Planning appeals — London Borough of Lewisham
Refusals in SE12 can be appealed to the Planning Inspectorate; this is London Borough of Lewisham's householder appeal record.
| Householder appeals determined2021–2026 | 164 |
|---|---|
| Allowed | 50 |
| Allowedof 164 · England 36% | 30% |
Source: Planning Inspectorate appeals casework. Open Government Licence v3.0 Extracted 2026-09-22.
Conservation areas and Article 4 directions — London Borough of Lewisham
Register counts for London Borough of Lewisham. A count describes what the council has published, never a rank against another council.
| Conservation areas in the register | 30 |
|---|---|
| Article 4 directions in the register | 57 |
| Areas covered by an Article 4 direction | 89 |
Source: MHCLG Planning Data Platform. Open Government Licence v3.0 Extracted 2026-09-22.
What SE12 is built of
Residential building form across Lee (SE12), from 251 classified buildings — the fact that decides party walls, side returns and loft headroom before any policy does.
| Attached on more than one side | 42% |
|---|---|
| Attached on one side | 52% |
| Detached | 6% |
| Median building footprint | 62 m² |
| Addresses per buildingAbove about 2 means flats and maisonettes dominate | 1.4 |
| Buildings classified | 251 |
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 2026-09-22.
- Day 0Measured survey of your Lee property — or your existing plans if you have them.
- About 7 daysDrawings issued for your approval. Free redraws until you are happy.
- SubmissionWe validate against London Borough of Lewisham’s checklist and submit on your behalf.
- Council: 8-week targetHouseholder applications carry an 8-week statutory target. London Borough of Lewisham decided 95% of 464 recent householder applications inside it.
Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (PS2 district planning application statistics). Open Government Licence v3.0 Extracted 2026-09-22.
Streets and neighbourhoods in SE12
Nearby postcode districts
Lee (SE12) — FAQs
Can I extend my house on Micheldever Road without planning permission?+
Does living in the Lee Manor Conservation Area stop me building a kitchen extension?+
Get your free Lee planning assessment
Tell us your SE12 address and ambition — feasibility, constraints and a fixed fee within one working day.