Extensions and loft conversions in Havering
Havering is London’s most suburban borough. Hornchurch, Elm Park, Upminster, Harold Wood, Collier Row and the streets around Gidea Park station are lined with 1930s hipped-roof semis on generous plots, and the standard moves are a two-storey side extension, a 4–6 m rear extension across the back of the house, a hip-to-gable loft with a rear dormer, and a garden room at the end of a long garden. A large share of this is possible under permitted development (PD), and we secure a Lawful Development Certificate (LDC) as proof.
Emerson Park, Cranham and parts of Upminster have larger detached houses on wide plots, where the council watches plot coverage and the gaps between houses. The Gidea Park garden suburb is the exception to the PD rule: its Article 4 direction means almost any external change needs a planning application designed to the conservation area appraisal. Romford town centre, Rainham village and the Harold Hill estate have their own patterns, and flats in the new Romford and Beam Park blocks have no householder PD rights.
Planning constraints in Havering
- Green Belt covering around half the borough, where extensions must be proportionate to the original house.
- Gidea Park Article 4 direction removing PD for extensions, roof works, windows and boundaries.
- Conservation areas including Gidea Park, Havering-atte-Bower, Cranham, Corbets Tey, Rainham Village and St Andrew’s Hornchurch.
- Thames and river flood risk in Rainham, South Hornchurch and along the Rom, Ingrebourne and Beam.
- Emerson Park policy area protecting low-density character.
- Listed buildings at Rainham Hall, Upminster and the Green Belt villages.
If you are unsure which of these affect your plot, start with the council’s constraints map or ask us to check as part of your quote.
What Havering planning officers look for
Officers assess householder applications against the Havering Local Plan and the London Plan. The recurring tests are the 45-degree line from the neighbour’s nearest habitable window, the set-back and set-down of two-storey side extensions to avoid a terracing effect, rear extension depth relative to the neighbours, plot coverage and gaps in Emerson Park, and dormers kept below the ridge and inside the roof slope with matching tiles. Loss of daylight and outlook to a neighbour’s rear rooms is the most common refusal. The council offers paid pre-application advice, worth using in Gidea Park and the Green Belt. Council fees from April 2025 are £528 for a householder application and £264 for a proposed-use LDC; verify before applying.
Our services in Havering
- Planning documentation
- House extensions – side, rear, wraparound and two-storey
- Loft conversions – hip-to-gable and rear dormer designs
- Permitted development and LDCs
- Building Regulations drawings
- Outbuildings and garden rooms
Example projects nearby
- Loft conversion in Hackney – rear dormer on a Victorian terrace, elsewhere in east London
- Outbuilding in Bromley – garden room on a suburban plot in outer London
Guides
Read Permitted development rights in London and Do I need planning permission for a rear extension in London?.
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