House
extensions
in Fulham, SW6
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Hampstead Chartered Surveyors & Building ConsultancyFulham is in the dense south of the borough, so rear extensions are measured against key principle HS4: 3.5 metres beyond the original back, 4 metres from the boundary and half the open area at most.
Fulham extends at the back. The long terrace grid of SW6 — classic Victorian family London — was built in a way that suits rear and side-return additions opening kitchens to gardens while the bay windows and sash detail hold the street line, and that same family-house character, in long runs of bay-fronted terraces and Edwardian cottages, explains why lofts and extensions dominate the workload here.
The consent picture rewards preparation. Hammersmith and Fulham watches external change in its conservation areas closely and applies Article 4 controls, and directions at individual properties pull smaller works back into planning on streets and areas including Studdridge Street and Central Fulham — so an address check comes before any design decision, and getting the borough's conservation position clear early keeps the whole programme honest.
Budgets depend on the form: a single-storey rear addition, a side return, or a wraparound where the scheme wraps the corner, each priced excluding VAT. Add a basement and the calculation changes again, because the borough-wide Article 4 direction means basement work in Fulham proceeds by planning application, never by default.
Extending a Fulham terrace: the HS4 limits and the pattern of backs
Fulham sits in the denser part of the borough. The Planning Guidance SPD describes Hammersmith and Fulham as already densely built, with buildings set close together, most of all in the south of the borough, which is why rear gardens and the gaps between back additions are measured carefully.
Where permission is needed, key principle HS4 sets three cases in which it will not normally be granted: an addition more than 3.5 metres in length, one ending less than 4 metres from the back boundary of the plot, and one taking up over half of the garden space behind the house as first built, with any earlier extensions counted in.
In Moore Park the profile adds its own expectations. Rear extensions should be in keeping with the existing house in design and materials, and are considered on their own merit when they need permission; rear roof terraces cut into the slates of rear extensions require planning permission and should be resisted.
It also describes a definite pattern of fronts and backs across the conservation area, with houses facing the street, and asks that rear building lines respect the value of rear gardens. A side return or rear room that keeps to the line of its neighbours is the starting point there.
In a conservation area the General Permitted Development Order 2015 treats the land as article 2(3) land, where Class A does not allow an enlargement beyond a side wall of the original house, or a rear enlargement of more than one storey, without planning permission.
Outside Fulham: Fitzjohns Avenue, NW3, a basement and rear extension with bi-fold doors on Fitzjohns Avenue, NW3.
We draw the existing back additions on both sides before proposing anything, so the 45-degree and outlook tests in the guidance can be checked on the plan rather than argued later.
Sources: Hammersmith & Fulham: Planning Guidance Supplementary Planning Document (February 2018); Hammersmith & Fulham: Moore Park Conservation Area character profile; legislation.gov.uk - Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 1 Part 1 (Article 2(3) land); legislation.gov.uk - Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 2 Part 1 Class A.
House Extensions in Fulham: Questions
What should we budget for a house extension in Fulham?
Two forms frame most SW6 schemes: a single-storey rear extension and a side return, each priced excluding VAT. Where the cost of a particular Fulham house lands is settled by the design and the site, which we price before work begins.
Why is the side return the signature Fulham extension?
Because the houses were made for it. Fulham is classic Victorian family London, and its family houses take rear and side-return additions that open kitchens to gardens while the bay windows and sash detail stay exactly as the street expects.
What do you check before drawing up an extension in Fulham?
The Article 4 register, first. Hammersmith and Fulham has restricted permitted development at many individual properties, particularly in conservation areas, with directions covering Fulham streets and areas such as Studdridge Street and Central Fulham — and understanding the borough's conservation rules at the outset is what keeps a Fulham project moving rather than waiting.
Is a wraparound extension realistic on a Fulham terrace?
Often, yes. The area's long runs of bay-fronted Victorian terraces and Edwardian cottages are exactly the housing that generates rear and side-return work, and combining the two gives a wraparound extension, priced after a survey.
Could our Fulham extension include a basement level?
It can, but never under permitted development. A borough-wide Article 4(1) direction — made 25 April 2017 and in force since 26 April 2018, excluding only the OPDC area — removed permitted-development rights for basements across Hammersmith and Fulham, so a basement element always means a planning application. On cost, a basement is priced after a survey, before full fit-out.
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