Design guidance on retrofitting
Lambeth planning has prepared design guidance on building alterations including advice on retrofitting, which can be found in the Lambeth Design Guide - Building Alterations, Extensions and Retrofit (PDF 2.7MB)
Government regulations identify a range of works that are permitted development, which do not require planning permission so long as the government’s requirement are met. The Planning Portal website has interactive guidance which illustrates some of these permitted development rights.
If your proposal is not permitted development, then planning permission is highly likely to be required for external retrofit works to your property. The council assesses planning applications on their merits against planning policy and guidance. Planning policy comprises:
- the Lambeth Local Plan 2021 (PDF 16.4MB)
- the London Plan 2021, and
- any relevant neighbourhood plans
Permission may be refused if the proposals do not meet the policy requirements and supplementary planning guidance.
Internal works
Generally, internal alterations to a property will not require planning permission from the council unless the proposals relate to a statutory listed building.
External works
Some external retrofit works will be permitted development and therefore will not require planning permission from the council. You can find detailed information on when permission is required for permitted development rights on the GOV.UK website.
Conservation areas
Properties in conservation areas have different permitted development rights than properties outside conservation areas. To find out if your property is in a conservation area in Lambeth, please carry out an address search on the council’s Planning Applications Database. In some conservation areas, the council has removed permitted development rights to protect local amenity using Article 4 Directions. This means that planning permission will be required for some works to homes in these areas that would not normally require planning permission.
Permitted development rights may also be removed at the time the council grants planning permission. In such instances, permitted development rights are removed or curtailed by a condition of the planning permission.
Statutory listed buildings
If a property is statutory listed, most retrofit works would require listed building consent. Guidance on a full range of sympathetic retrofit options for listed buildings is available on the Historic England website. It is recommended that before you make an application for listed building consent, you seek pre-application advice from the council.
Even if you think your development would fall within permitted development rights, it is recommended that before carrying out works you apply for a lawful development certificate. This is an optional application that asks the council to decide if the proposed works would be lawful and do not require planning permission. A certificate can give you peace of mind before you start works and may be required during any future sale of your property.