Rear extension drawings in Camden from £625
Hampstead, Belsize Park, Kentish Town and Holborn: Camden sets no depth, and judges a back extension against the pattern your neighbours have already built.
£625 £475 drawings + £150 survey (£625 total), no VAT to add
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The short answer
Camden’s Home Improvements guidance, January 2021, gives no depth for a rear extension. It asks for a height, depth and width that respects the existing common pattern and rhythm of rear extensions at neighbouring sites, a reasonably sized garden kept, and compliance with the 45 and 25 degree daylight tests. In a conservation area, the original rear return can be part of what is protected. Our fee is £475 drawings + £150 survey (£625 total), no VAT to add; the council’s fee is separate.
Rear extension drawings
from £625
- Drawings
- £475
- Measured survey
- £150
- Total you pay
- £625
- VAT
- None to add
- A measured survey of the back of the house and a record of every neighbouring rear extension on the terrace
- A depth, height and width that sits with the pattern next door, and a drawing that shows it
- The 45 and 25 degree tests, or a BRE daylight check, for the nearest windows
- A check of your address against Camden’s conservation area appraisals and Article 4 directions
- Plans to the 2026 Local Area Requirements, and the route that fits submitted for you
£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 Camden rear extension runs
Rhythm check
We map the rear extensions along your terrace, with or without planning permission, as Camden asks for a site assessment first.
Survey
We measure the back, the garden and the neighbours’ windows.
Design
You choose depth and roof, with the daylight tests and route written down.
Draw and submit
We prepare the pack to the 2026 requirements and submit it.
Why Camden has no number
Section 2.1.1 of the Home Improvements guidance lists what a rear extension should do. It should be subordinate to the building in location, form, footprint, scale, proportions, dimensions and detailing, use sympathetic materials, preserve original features such as bays and cornices, and allow a reasonably sized garden to be kept. It should respect the amenity of adjoining occupiers for daylight, sunlight, outlook, light pollution and privacy, and comply with the 45 degree and 25 degree tests, or show BRE compliance through a daylight test.
The sentence that sets the depth is the last in the list: a height, depth and width that respects the existing common pattern and rhythm of rear extensions at neighbouring sites. For example, on a Kentish Town terrace where every house has a 2.5 metre kitchen, a 4 metre one is out of rhythm even though permitted development would allow it. We map the terrace before you choose.
Conservation areas, light and green roofs
The guidance says that in a conservation area the rhythm of the original rear return may itself be significant, and the appraisal should be checked; some important rear elevations are named in conservation area appraisals. It also asks designers to avoid light pollution from large rooflights and glazed roofs, to retain wildlife corridors at the ends of streets, and prefers biodiverse green roofs with a substrate depth of at least 100 millimetres to sedum roofs.
Permitted development gives 3 or 4 metres, or 6 and 8 through prior approval outside conservation areas. The Belsize Article 4 direction, in effect from 1 September 2010, leaves rear elevations unchanged, but other areas differ, so we read the one that covers your road.
Validation and CIL
Camden’s Local Area Requirements, in their 2026 edition, ask for plans at 1:50 in a conservation area or on a listed building and 1:100 elsewhere. That is the council’s validation standard for a householder pack.
Camden CIL, in the schedule approved on 25 September 2020, applies once a proposal adds 100 square metres of floor area, so a typical extension is outside it. Mayoral CIL is in band 1.
Rear extensions in Camden in numbers
129 of 212
Householder decisions by the London Borough of Camden 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)
No depth
The guidance gives no depth in metres: height, depth and width must respect the common pattern and rhythm of neighbouring rear extensions.
45° and 25°
Daylight tests an extension must pass, or be shown to meet BRE standards by a daylight test.
100 mm
Substrate depth of the biodiverse green roofs the guidance prefers to sedum roofs.
Jan 2021
Date of the Home Improvements Camden Planning Guidance.
3 m / 4 m
Deepest single-storey extension permitted development allows outside conservation areas; larger sizes need prior approval.
2026
Edition of Camden’s Local Area Requirements, which republish the 2018 criteria with revised links.
Source: Camden’s Local Area Requirements for Planning Applications 2026 (London Borough of Camden)
1 Sep 2010
Date the Belsize Conservation Area Article 4(1) direction took effect; rear elevations are unchanged.
100 m²
Floor area a proposal must add before Camden’s CIL, set in the schedule approved on 25 September 2020, applies.
£96.97
Mayoral CIL per square metre for permissions granted in 2026 in Camden, which is in band 1 (£80 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 rear extensions in Camden
How deep can I go in Camden?
There is no figure. Camden looks at the pattern of rear extensions along your terrace and the daylight tests, so the neighbours matter more than a number.
Why does the terrace matter?
The guidance asks for a depth, height and width that respects the existing pattern and rhythm of neighbouring rear extensions, with or without planning permission.
Can I use the 6 metre larger home route?
Outside conservation areas, yes, with prior approval and neighbour consultation. Inside them permitted development does not apply.
Do I pay CIL on a kitchen extension?
Not normally. Camden’s CIL applies once a proposal adds 100 square metres of floor area.
See how far your Camden house can go
Send the address and a photo of the back. We reply with the route and a fixed fee, from £475 drawings + £150 survey (£625 total).