Paved patio and lawn beside a white rendered house with large sliding glass doors, and a black pergola over garden furniture

UB9 · Harefield · Hillingdon

Planning and building regulation drawings in Harefield (UB9)

Harefield reads as a village that happens to sit inside London. Cottages and period houses are scattered around the green and St Mary's Church, medieval and later buildings mixed with Victorian and twentieth-century infill, all set against open countryside on the northern edge of the borough. High Street, Church Hill, Park Lane and Rickmansworth Road are among its roads. With buildings of so many periods, there is no single Harefield project: the work can range from a modest rear extension or loft room in a cottage to a sensitive upgrade of a period house.

MCIAT chartered technologists
London Borough of Hillingdon granted 90% of 1184 householder applications
Drawings in about 7 days

Two controls shape most schemes. Harefield Village is a conservation area protecting the rural village character, the scattered building pattern and the views out to the countryside. In it, roof enlargements, side extensions and rear extensions of more than one storey are not permitted development, and the design has to earn its place in a loose-knit setting. Around the village the land is Green Belt, which limits the scale and footprint of extensions and outbuildings on many plots. The council's policy approach favours additions that are clearly subordinate to the original house, so a large suburban-style extension meets resistance where a smaller, in-keeping one may not.

Hillingdon holds Article 4 directions on record, including one on upward extensions, but they target particular rights such as adding storeys rather than the everyday rear extension and loft rights. For a typical Harefield house the conservation area and the Green Belt setting do the real shaping. We establish which designation covers a property first, because it decides both the route and how the drawings should respond, and in this part of the borough a small design change can make the difference to how a scheme reads against the village.

Planning in Harefield: what to know before you apply

Hillingdon does not apply a borough-wide Article 4 direction to restrict typical householder permitted development. What matters in UB9 is a combination of conservation control in Harefield Village and Green Belt policy, which together limit how large a house or outbuilding can become and how it relates to the open surroundings. Green Belt status alone does not remove permitted development rights. Where permitted development has been removed or does not apply, a householder planning application is the route, and the officers look for subordinate, in-keeping additions rather than bulky ones. Listed buildings also need listed building consent for changes to their character. Aircraft noise near Heathrow is a consideration further south in the borough rather than here. We confirm the designations and policies that apply to your address before drawing.

Applications are decided by London Borough of Hillingdon — its planning pages.

Check your route

Does your Harefield project need planning permission?

Route check · Harefield (UB9)

ProjectProperty

Listed building?

Conservation area?

Likely permitted development — no planning applicationNeeds checking

A single-storey rear extension up to 4 m deep on a detached house, or 3 m on any other house, is Class A permitted development subject to the height and materials conditions.
One or more constraints are unknown — we check the council's registers as part of the free appraisal.
Where permitted development applies, a lawful development certificate proves it for lenders and buyers.

Sources: GPDO 2015, Schedule 2, Part 1 · Planning Portal — common projects · Building Regulations 2010 — when approval is needed

This is a first-pass indication from the national rules, not planning advice for your property. Your council's registers, any Article 4 schedule and the exact dimensions decide it — the free appraisal checks all three before we recommend a route.

Confirm it with a free appraisal

Harefield (UB9) in numbers

What London Borough of Hillingdon has decided, and what UB9 is built of — the two facts that shape every job here.

Householder planning decisions — London Borough of Hillingdon

Harefield (UB9) applications are decided by London Borough of Hillingdon; these are its published householder figures for the last four quarters.

Householder applications decided2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1	1,184
Granted	1,068
Refused	116
Grantedof 1184 decisions · England 90%	90%
Decided within 8 weeksof 720, 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 Hillingdon

How the larger-home-extension route has fared with London Borough of Hillingdon, which decides UB9 notifications.

Larger home extension prior approvals — not required2024 Q2 to 2026 Q1	235
Prior approval granted	58
Prior approval refused	23
Grantedof 81 determined	72%

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 Hillingdon

Refusals in UB9 can be appealed to the Planning Inspectorate; this is London Borough of Hillingdon's householder appeal record.

Householder appeals determined2021–2026	430
Allowed	183
Allowedof 430 · England 36%	43%

Source: Planning Inspectorate appeals casework. Open Government Licence v3.0 Extracted 2026-09-22.

Conservation areas and Article 4 directions — London Borough of Hillingdon

Register counts for London Borough of Hillingdon. A count describes what the council has published, never a rank against another council.

Conservation areas in the register30 dated, 1970–2024	42
Article 4 directions in the register	150
Areas covered by an Article 4 direction	150

Source: MHCLG Planning Data Platform. Open Government Licence v3.0 Extracted 2026-09-22.

What UB9 is built of

Residential building form across Harefield (UB9), from 161 classified buildings — the fact that decides party walls, side returns and loft headroom before any policy does.

Attached on more than one side	23%
Attached on one side	45%
Detached	32%
Median building footprint	72 m²
Addresses per buildingAbove about 2 means flats and maisonettes dominate	1.12
Buildings classified	161

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 Harefield 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 Hillingdon’s checklist and submit on your behalf.
Council: 8-week targetHouseholder applications carry an 8-week statutory target. London Borough of Hillingdon decided 95% of 720 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.

Neighbourhoods

Streets and neighbourhoods in UB9

Harefielda rural historic village core with buildings from the medieval period through to the 20th century

Nearby

Nearby postcode districts

Uxbridge UB8Hillingdon UB10West Drayton UB7Southall UB2Greenford UB6Northolt UB5

FAQ

Harefield (UB9) — FAQs

Does the Green Belt stop me extending my Harefield house?+

Not outright. Permitted development still applies on Green Belt land outside the conservation area, and where an application is needed, national policy asks whether the extension is disproportionate to the original building. A modest, subordinate design is easier to justify. We check what applies to your plot first.

Is the whole of Harefield in the conservation area?+

Not necessarily. Harefield Village covers the historic core around the green and church, and houses outside the boundary are assessed on other grounds, including Green Belt. We check the boundary and the designations for each address.

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