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Hounslow Extension Appeal: Feltham Refusal Overturned on Design and Access

Photograph of a house in Feltham where a planning appeal for extensions was successful.

A refusal containing two reasons can feel difficult to challenge. But the number of objections matters less than whether they stand up to scrutiny. In this Feltham extension appeal, neither of them did. The property is a semi-detached house in Feltham. Its owners wanted to enlarge it with a two-storey side extension in place of […]

Garage Conversion Refused in a Conservation Area, Then Allowed on Appeal

Photograph of a house in Hounslow where a planning appeal was successful

A garage conversion sounds like one of the least controversial changes you can make to a house: remove the garage door, build up the opening and turn the space where you parked into a room. In a conservation area, however, even a modest alteration can attract close scrutiny. Hounslow refused this garage conversion on Popes […]

An Isleworth Extension Refused Over a Few Centimetres, Won on Appeal

Photograph of a house in Isleworth where planning permission was granted at appeal

Building work does not always match approved drawings to the centimetre. But a small departure from the plans does not necessarily cause planning harm. That was the issue in this Isleworth appeal. A family had built several extensions slightly differently from the approved drawings. When they applied to regularise the finished work, Hounslow Council refused […]

Southall Extension Refused Over a Bathroom Window — Appeal Allowed

The 45-degree rule is a rough daylight test intended mainly to protect windows serving kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms—not bathrooms and other secondary spaces. Ealing Council applied it to a bathroom window and refused a first-floor extension in Southall. The owner appealed and won. Why Ealing refused the extension The property is a semi-detached house with an […]

Greenford Loft Conversion Refused Over Its Rear Dormer — Appeal Allowed

Photograph of a house

A hip-to-gable loft conversion is one of the most familiar alterations to a suburban house. The sloping end of the roof is squared off, a dormer is added at the back and the unused roof space becomes a bedroom. Thousands are built every year, many without a murmur. Ealing Council refused this one in Greenford—and […]

Barnet Infill Housing Refusal Overturned on Appeal

Photograph of a house in Barnet where permission was granted for a new house

Side plots are one of the increasingly common places to build new homes in suburban London—and among the most difficult sites for which to secure planning permission. In this Underhill case, the owner proposed a two-bedroom home in the space beside an existing house. Barnet Council considered the development cramped and out of keeping with […]

“You’ve Extended Enough”: How We Won a Barnet Extension Appeal

“Enough is enough” is an opinion, not a planning policy. Where a house has already been enlarged several times, councils often assess the next proposal against the cumulative effect of everything previously built. But previous alterations do not create an automatic limit on further development. Barnet refused this first-floor extension in Edgware because it considered […]

Cricklewood Dormer Approved Despite Failing Barnet’s Design Tests

Photograph of a building in Cricklewood where planning permission was granted at appeal for a dormer

Barnet’s Residential Design Guidance contains unusually specific measurements for dormer windows. A rear dormer should normally be set at least one metre from the party wall, remain secondary to the roof and occupy no more than half the width and half the depth of the roof slope. This proposed dormer in Cricklewood failed several of […]

Islington Called This Garden Office “Excessive”. The Appeal Inspector Disagreed.

Photograph of a building in Islington where a planning appeal for an outbuilding was successful

Read Islington’s reason for refusing this garden office and you would picture something enormous. “Excessive scale, footprint, massing and bulk,” said the decision notice: an “inappropriate” and “discordant” addition that would be readily visible across neighbouring gardens. The building it described stood at the bottom of a long rear garden. It was two and a […]

The 45-Degree Rule Didn’t Fit: How We Won a Weybridge Extension Appeal

Photograph of a house in Elmbridge where there was a successful planning appeal

Planning departments run on rules of thumb. The 45-degree rule, the 21-metre privacy distance, the various quick tests a busy case officer can apply without leaving their desk: they are useful right up until someone reaches for one on a case it was never designed for. That is what happened to a family in Weybridge […]