If the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead has refused your planning application, you have the right to appeal — and a great many of these refusals do not survive it. This is an affluent, closely guarded borough with a lot of Green Belt and a design guide the council applies strictly, so extensions here are refused more readily than in most places. Councils don’t always get it right. Our chartered town planners prepare and manage the whole appeal for a fixed fee of £399.
Why Windsor and Maidenhead refuses so many applications
The Royal Borough guards its character closely. Large parts of it — Ascot, Sunningdale, Cookham and the rural west — sit in the Green Belt, where an extension has to clear an extra hurdle. On top of the Borough Local Plan, the council leans hard on its Borough Wide Design Guide, which asks for a one-metre gap between an extension and the side boundary, insists that extensions stay “subordinate”, and warns against anything that creates a “terracing effect”. These are useful rules of thumb, but the council often applies them as though they were law. If you want to see how councils compare, we’ve ranked the councils that refuse the most.
The refusals follow a pattern. Side extensions said to close up a gap or create a “terracing effect”. Additions called out of keeping with the character and appearance of the area. Rear and first-floor extensions said to be overbearing or to take a neighbour’s light. And, in the Green Belt, extensions refused as “disproportionate” additions. Most of these come down to judgement, which is exactly why so many are overturned.
Why inspectors overturn these refusals
An inspector does not work for the Royal Borough. They visit the site, judge it on its merits against national policy and the evidence, and are not bound by the council’s design guide where it does not fit the street. Time and again, a refusal that read as firm on the decision notice does not survive that visit.
We see it constantly. A side extension refused for a “terracing effect” where the inspector found a clear gap and no terrace at all. A two-storey extension refused in the Green Belt, allowed because it was not disproportionate to the original house. When the reason for refusal is the council’s reading of its own design guide, an inspector is free to read it differently — and often does.
Recent wins in Windsor and Maidenhead
A side extension in Maidenhead. Refused over a supposed “terracing effect” and the loss of a gap between houses. The inspector allowed it — there was a clear gap, no terrace, and the first-floor addition was set well back and read as subordinate to the house.
A two-storey extension in the Green Belt. A two-storey side and rear extension in a rural cluster near Waltham St Lawrence, refused as inappropriate Green Belt development and for loss of light. The inspector allowed it — the additions were not disproportionate to the original house, and the effect on the neighbour was acceptable.
A garage conversion in Ascot. A garage conversion, side extension and dormers, refused over the effect on protected trees. The inspector allowed it — the incursion into the trees’ root protection areas was minor and their health would not be harmed.
An annexe in Eton Wick. The council refused a converted outbuilding on the basis that it was really a separate house. The inspector disagreed — with no kitchen and a clear functional link to the main dwelling, it was ancillary accommodation, not a new dwelling.
Behind these sit more everyday wins — first-floor and rear extensions across Windsor and Maidenhead refused as overbearing on a neighbour, and overturned on appeal.
What the appeal process involves
Most householder and small-scheme refusals in Windsor and Maidenhead go through the Part 1 expedited written representations procedure. There is no longer a written statement of case: the inspector decides on your original application documents, the council’s reasons for refusal, and a concise 250-word summary of why the decision was wrong. Because nothing new can be added later, the evidence that wins your case must already be in the application, and the summary must point the inspector straight to it. We complete the appeal form, draft that summary, and handle all liaison with the Planning Inspectorate through to decision, typically around three to four months. See our guides to winning a planning appeal and the 250-word summary.
Deadlines, cost and costs awards
You have 12 weeks from the date on the council’s decision notice to lodge a householder appeal. Miss it and the right is lost. The Planning Inspectorate charges no fee; ours is a fixed £399 covering everything from reviewing your refusal to the decision — no hidden costs, no hourly rates. In the clearest cases, where a council has refused something it clearly should have approved, we can also apply for your costs — an inspector only awards them where the council has behaved unreasonably, and we will tell you if we think that is likely.
Can we help with your case?
Our fixed-fee service covers standard householder appeals in Windsor and Maidenhead — single-storey rear, side and wraparound extensions, two-storey extensions, dormers, loft conversions, garage conversions and outbuildings, including in the Green Belt. It does not cover listed building consent, enforcement notices, or cases requiring a hearing or public inquiry; for those we’d refer you to our sister practice, Just Planning.
Get free initial advice
Send us your decision notice and we’ll review it free of charge, tell you honestly what we think your chances are, and explain what happens next. Get in touch — we respond within one working day.
