Loft conversion drawings in Hackney from £625
Clapton, Stoke Newington, Dalston, Hackney Wick and London Fields: we check whether a conservation area direction covers your roof, then draw to Hackney’s checklist.
£625 £475 drawings + £150 survey (£625 total), no VAT to add
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The short answer
Hackney has 35 conservation areas, and householder Article 4 directions in several of them. In De Beauvoir the direction expressly covers “an addition or alteration to its roof”, so a dormer there needs a planning application. Hackney’s checklist asks for a roof plan on every application, and a fire safety Reasonable Exception Statement where no full fire statement applies. Our fee is £475 drawings + £150 survey (£625 total), no VAT to add; the council’s fee is separate.
Loft conversion drawings
from £625
- Drawings
- £475
- Measured survey
- £150
- Total you pay
- £625
- VAT
- None to add
- A measured survey of the roof, the stair and the landing below
- A check of your address against Hackney’s Article 4 directions and its 35 conservation areas
- Existing and proposed floor plans, roof plan, elevations and sections at 1:50 or 1:100, with a 0 to 10 metre scale bar
- A fire safety Reasonable Exception Statement and, in a conservation area, a design and access statement and heritage statement
- Submission to Hackney, an independent check of every sheet and free redraws until approval
£475 drawings + £150 survey (£625 total). A starting fee: we confirm one fixed figure after checking your address. The council’s own fee, where there is one, is paid to the council.
Get my fixed feeHow a Hackney loft job runs
Address check
We search the council’s Article 4 property list for your address and check the conservation area boundary.
Survey
We measure the roof, stair and floors below, and photograph the roof and the terrace it belongs to.
Draw to the checklist
Each drawing shows paper size, key dimensions and a scale bar of at least 0 to 10 metres, named with its drawing number.
Submit and follow
We submit through the Planning Portal and follow the case. Hackney aims to decide within 8 weeks of a valid application.
Where Hackney’s Article 4 directions reach the roof
The council’s Article 4 page lists householder directions for the De Beauvoir, St Mark’s, Shacklewell Green, Brownswood, Well Street and Beck Road conservation areas. The De Beauvoir direction was made on 7 July 2008 and approved by the Secretary of State on 27 November 2008, and it means planning permission is needed for “the enlargement of a dwelling house consisting of an addition or alteration to its roof”, including chimneys.
For example, a Victorian house in the De Beauvoir conservation area cannot use the loft dormer right a house outside the directions would, if it falls within the Article 4 boundary. Not every property in the area is affected, so we check the property list. The 2024 directions for Brownswood, Well Street and Beck Road took effect on 9 and 28 May 2025.
What Hackney’s validation checklist asks for
Hackney’s checklist covers householder applications as well as full ones, and asks for existing and proposed elevations, floor plans, site sections and roof plans, each at 1:50 or 1:100. Every plan must show paper size, key dimensions and a scale bar indicating a minimum of 0 to 10 metres, and drawing names carry their drawing numbers.
For fire safety the checklist asks for a Reasonable Exception Statement wherever the applicant does not consider a full fire statement to be required, which is the case for a house loft. A heritage statement is needed where a development is within a conservation area, and the council page adds that a design and access statement is only required when the property is in one. Biodiversity net gain does not apply to householder applications.
Timing and CIL in Hackney
Hackney says it aims to decide an application within eight weeks of it being made valid, and the figures below show how often it manages that.
Hackney charges its own CIL as well as the Mayor’s, which is £60 per square metre before indexation across the borough. The levy generally applies only from 100 square metres of new floor area, or to a new dwelling, and a liability under £50 is treated as zero. A loft inside the existing roof is normally outside it.
Loft conversions in Hackney in numbers
223 of 247
Householder decisions by the London Borough of Hackney between July 2025 and June 2026 (prior approvals left out) that were made inside 8 weeks.
Source: MHCLG live table PS2, district planning application statistics, July 2025 to June 2026 (GOV.UK)
1:50 or 1:100
Scale Hackney asks for on elevations, floor plans, site sections and roof plans.
Source: Planning Application Validation Checklist (Hackney Planning Service)
0 to 10 m
Minimum scale bar Hackney asks for on every plan and drawing.
Source: Planning Application Validation Checklist (Hackney Planning Service)
RES
A fire safety Reasonable Exception Statement is asked for wherever the applicant does not consider a full Fire Statement to be required.
Source: Planning Application Validation Checklist (Hackney Planning Service)
8 weeks
Time Hackney aims to take to decide a householder application, from the day it is made valid.
Source: Submit your planning application (London Borough of Hackney)
35
Conservation areas across Hackney.
7 Jul 2008
Date the De Beauvoir Article 4 direction was made, controlling additions or alterations to a dwelling house’s roof.
Source: De Beauvoir conservation area, Article 4 Direction (London Borough of Hackney)
9 May 2025
Date the Brownswood and Well Street Article 4 directions, made in May 2024, took effect.
Under £50
A Hackney CIL liability below this amount is treated as zero; the levy generally applies from 100 square metres of new floor area or to a new dwelling.
Source: Hackney community infrastructure levy (London Borough of Hackney)
£72.73
Mayoral CIL per square metre for permissions granted in 2026 in Hackney, which is in band 2 (£60 when set in 2019). It applies only where CIL is due at all.
Source: Mayoral CIL: Annual CIL Rate Summary 2026 (London.gov.uk)
Questions about loft conversions in Hackney
Do I need planning permission for a loft in De Beauvoir?
If your house is inside the Article 4 boundary, yes: the direction brings roof additions and alterations under planning control. Not every property in the area is affected, so we check yours.
Does Hackney require a fire statement for a house loft?
Its checklist asks for a Reasonable Exception Statement where a full fire statement is not considered necessary. We write that statement with the drawings.
Do I need a design and access statement?
Hackney says one is only required when the property is within a conservation area. We prepare it when it applies.
Do I pay CIL on a loft in Hackney?
Usually not. The levy generally applies from 100 square metres of new floor area or to a new dwelling, and a liability under £50 is treated as zero.
Find out what your Hackney loft needs
Send the address and a photo of the back of the house. We reply with the route and a fixed fee, from £475 drawings + £150 survey (£625 total).