Prior approval for a larger rear extension in Lewisham: read the record first
Lewisham has refused 81 of the 85 larger home extension notifications it had to decide in the eight quarters to June 2026, and granted 4. A further 101 needed no decision. If you are weighing a 6 metre or 8 metre rear extension here, those numbers should shape the drawings, or the route. We survey the house, check the constraint maps, and draw the notification for a fixed £595.
Fixed fee from £395 drawings + £200 survey (£595 total) · all prices
Prefer to talk it through?
Eighty-one refused out of eighty-five decided
MHCLG publishes each council's prior approval figures every quarter. Adding up Lewisham's eight quarters from 2024 Q3 to 2026 Q2 gives 101 larger home extension notifications where prior approval was not required, 4 granted and 81 refused. Where a decision was needed at all, 81 of 85 went against the applicant, about 95% on our calculation.
A refusal under this scheme turns on the effect on neighbouring homes, usually their light or outlook, so a result like that tells you the council has found harm where it has had to look. We would rather you read it before you spend than after. The 101 that needed no decision show that a notification can still go straight through when the neighbours raise nothing.
Prior Approval Extension Drawings in Lewisham
from £595
£395 drawings + £200 survey (£595 total)
Every price is the full fixed fee you pay. No VAT is charged. Council application fees are paid to the council separately.
What you get
- A measured survey visit to the house and garden
- A check of conservation area and Article 4 maps for your address
- Plans and rear elevation with depth and height shown at the boundary
- The written description and the list of adjoining addresses
- Submission to Lewisham as your agent, with replies to its questions
- A frank view on whether a lawful development certificate fits better
- Check the maps
Conservation areas and Article 4 directions can rule the scheme out before any drawing starts.
- Survey the house
We measure the rear wall, the garden and the neighbours' windows nearest your boundary.
- Test the depth
We look at whether a shorter depth or lower boundary wall keeps most of the extra space.
- Pick the route
Notification, certificate or householder application, whichever fits the drawings.
- Draw and submit
We send the set and answer the council's questions.
What that means for a terrace or a semi
The order allows 6 metres beyond the rear wall for a terraced or semi-detached house, or 8 metres if detached, at no more than 4 metres high. The full depth is a permission, not a recommendation.
On a terrace or a semi, the cost of a deep extension falls on the adjoining neighbours, and they are the people the council writes to. We can draw two options on the same survey: the full depth, and a shorter one that keeps most of the useful space. Seeing the wall height at the boundary for each helps you choose before the notification goes in.
Neighbours get at least 21 days to comment, and the council has 42 days from a complete notification to decide.
Conservation areas and Article 4 in Lewisham
On the government's planning data register at our extraction on 19 October 2026, Lewisham has 30 live conservation area entries and 20 live Article 4 direction areas that withdraw permitted development rights under Class A, which is the class covering house extensions. The larger depths do not apply in a conservation area, and a Class A direction removes the rights the notification relies on.
So in this borough the constraint check is not a formality. We read the council's maps against your address on the survey day. If the house is inside one, the scheme is closed to it and we move to a householder planning application using the same survey.
When a certificate is worth considering
A notification invites neighbours to comment on effect. A lawful development certificate asks a narrower question, whether the drawings meet the permitted development rules as written, but it does not cover the larger depths, which only prior approval can unlock. For a house where the extension is within the ordinary limits, the certificate gives you the council's written confirmation without that neighbour step. We say which one applies from the survey.
Our fee for the notification is a fixed £595 with the survey included and no VAT charged, and the council's fee of £249 is separate. The rules in full are in our guide to the larger home extension scheme.
After the decision
Neighbours get at least 21 days to comment, and the council has 42 days from a complete notification to decide. If it says nothing in that time, the order lets work start. Prior approval answers only the planning question, so building regulations approval and, where you build against a shared wall, party wall notices follow.
Sources
Every figure on this page, where it comes from and a link to the original.
| Figure | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| 6 metres | GPDO 2015 Sch 2 Pt 1 Class A.1(g): larger single-storey rear extension, maximum depth beyond the rear wall for a house other than detached, subject to prior approval under A.4 (source wording: "6 metres") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| 8 metres | GPDO 2015 Sch 2 Pt 1 Class A.1(g): larger single-storey rear extension, maximum depth beyond the rear wall for a detached house (source wording: "8 metres") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| 4 metres | GPDO 2015 Sch 2 Pt 1 Class A.1(f)-(g): a single-storey rear extension may not exceed 4 metres in height (source wording: "exceed 4 metres in height") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| 42 days | GPDO 2015 Sch 2 Pt 1 Class A.4(10)(c): work may start if the council has not notified a decision within 42 days of receiving the information (source wording: "the expiry of 42 days") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| £249 | Statutory fee from 1 April 2026: prior approval for a householder larger rear extension (GPDO Part 1 Class A) | assets.publishing.service.gov.uk |
| 101 | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS1 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |
| 4 | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS1 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |
| 81 | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS1 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |
| 30 | Our analysis of the MHCLG Planning Data Platform conservation-area register (extracted 19 Oct 2026) | www.planning.data.gov.uk |
| 20 | Our analysis of the MHCLG Planning Data Platform article-4-direction-area register (extracted 19 Oct 2026) | www.planning.data.gov.uk |
Questions people ask
Is it true Lewisham refuses almost every decision it makes?
Does a refusal mean I cannot extend at all?
Is Lewisham covered by Article 4 directions?
Can I use the 8 metre depth on a terraced house?
Photographs: Chris Whippet (CC BY-SA 2.0).
