Planning and building regulation drawings in Charlton (SE7)
Charlton still has a village at its centre, and that shapes almost every planning conversation homeowners have here. Walk along The Village or up Charlton Church Lane and you're looking at Georgian and early-Victorian cottages clustered around Charlton House and St Luke's church, a pocket that reads more like a Kent market town than southeast London. Step away from that core and the housing changes fast: Victorian and Edwardian terraces climb the surrounding slopes, and interwar semis fill many of the roads further out. A loft conversion that sails through on a 1930s semi can mean a completely different set of questions on a cottage two streets over.
- MCIAT chartered technologists
- Royal Borough of Greenwich granted 78% of 647 householder applications
- Drawings in about 7 days
That split is the thing to understand before you sketch anything. Homes inside Charlton Village Conservation Area face tighter scrutiny on materials, windows and anything visible from the front, because the council is protecting the setting around a Grade I listed building and the streets that lead into it. Move a few hundred metres out, onto Charlton Road and the surrounding terraces, and you're usually working with standard householder rules rather than conservation-area constraints. Sloping plots are common around Charlton Park too, and they change how a rear or side extension gets designed long before anyone talks about planning permission.
None of this rules work out. It means the drawings have to answer for the address, not for a generic idea of "Charlton." We check whether a property sits inside the conservation area, whether it's close enough to Charlton House to matter, and whether the site slopes in a way that affects roof lines or floor levels, before we draw a single wall.
Planning in Charlton: what to know before you apply
Royal Greenwich assesses householder applications against what's actually on the ground at that address, and in Charlton that usually comes down to two things: proximity to the historic village core and the slope of the plot. Inside Charlton Village Conservation Area, alterations near Charlton House and St Luke's church get closer attention on materials and front-elevation changes, and permitted development rights can be narrower than homeowners expect. The conservation area itself doesn't carry a blanket Article 4 direction, but a separate direction applies around Rectory Field nearby, so it's worth confirming your specific street with the council rather than assuming what applies to a neighbour applies to you. Outside the village core, on the Victorian terraces and interwar semis further out, applications tend to follow the borough's ordinary householder process, though sloping sites still shape what a rear extension or loft dormer can achieve. We check the conservation-area boundary and any Article 4 position for your address before drawing, so the application isn't built on an assumption.
Applications are decided by Royal Borough of Greenwich — its planning pages.
Does your Charlton project need planning permission?
Charlton (SE7) in numbers
What Royal Borough of Greenwich has decided, and what SE7 is built of — the two facts that shape every job here.
Householder planning decisions — Royal Borough of Greenwich
Charlton (SE7) applications are decided by Royal Borough of Greenwich; these are its published householder figures for the last four quarters.
| Householder applications decided2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 | 647 |
|---|---|
| Granted | 502 |
| Refused | 145 |
| Grantedof 647 decisions · England 90% | 78% |
| Decided within 8 weeksof 514, excluding prior approvals | 94% |
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 — Royal Borough of Greenwich
How the larger-home-extension route has fared with Royal Borough of Greenwich, which decides SE7 notifications.
| Larger home extension prior approvals — not required2024 Q2 to 2026 Q1 | 0 |
|---|---|
| Prior approval granted | 154 |
| Prior approval refused | 126 |
| Grantedof 280 determined | 55% |
Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (PS1 district planning application statistics). Open Government Licence v3.0 Extracted 2026-09-22.
Planning appeals — Royal Borough of Greenwich
Refusals in SE7 can be appealed to the Planning Inspectorate; this is Royal Borough of Greenwich's householder appeal record.
| Householder appeals determined2021–2026 | 344 |
|---|---|
| Allowed | 157 |
| Allowedof 344 · England 36% | 46% |
Source: Planning Inspectorate appeals casework. Open Government Licence v3.0 Extracted 2026-09-22.
Conservation areas and Article 4 directions — Royal Borough of Greenwich
Register counts for Royal Borough of Greenwich. A count describes what the council has published, never a rank against another council.
| Conservation areas in the register | 14 |
|---|
Source: MHCLG Planning Data Platform. Open Government Licence v3.0 Extracted 2026-09-22.
What SE7 is built of
Residential building form across Charlton (SE7), from 437 classified buildings — the fact that decides party walls, side returns and loft headroom before any policy does.
| Attached on more than one side | 54% |
|---|---|
| Attached on one side | 43% |
| Detached | 3% |
| Median building footprint | 59 m² |
| Addresses per buildingAbove about 2 means flats and maisonettes dominate | 1.84 |
| Buildings classified | 437 |
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 Charlton 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 Royal Borough of Greenwich’s checklist and submit on your behalf.
- Council: 8-week targetHouseholder applications carry an 8-week statutory target. Royal Borough of Greenwich decided 94% of 514 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 SE7
Nearby postcode districts
Charlton (SE7) — FAQs
Does living near Charlton House mean I can't extend?+
My house is on Canberra Road, not in the village. Does the conservation area still apply to me?+
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