Royal Borough of Greenwich
We work on Greenwich’s Georgian and Victorian homes with a careful, evidence-based approach, from listed terraces near the town centre to villas on the hill. Many projects here turn on getting listed building consent and conservation approvals right.
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The short answer
Applications are decided by the Royal Borough of Greenwich as local planning authority, and listed buildings attract a further heritage approval of their own. Before design work starts, establish whether your address is listed, lies in a conservation area such as West Greenwich or Greenwich Town Centre, and how close it sits to the Maritime Greenwich setting. Not every street here carries the same constraints.
Planning at a glance
Greenwich
| Local planning authority | Royal Borough of Greenwich |
|---|---|
| Likely approval route | Householder planning application or permitted development, depending on conservation status, listing and property type — confirmed for the exact address before drawings begin |
| Statutory determination time | 8 weeks for most householder applications (13 weeks for major applications) |
| Local planning note | Greenwich mixes highly sensitive historic/riverside settings with ordinary family stock; confirm CA, listing and any strategic heritage setting for the pin rather than applying World Heritage-level assumptions everywhere in SE. |
| Where most projects start | Planning Route Review — £395 inc. VAT, credited in full against your package if you proceed. Find my package → |
Greenwich has a depth of history few London neighbourhoods can match, and its housing reflects centuries of building around the river and the park. Fine Georgian terraces cluster near the town centre and along Croom’s Hill, while the slopes towards Maze Hill and Westcombe Park hold Victorian and Italianate villas with generous gardens. Closer to the World Heritage Site, grand period townhouses and converted flats sit within an internationally significant setting. Understanding which era and which construction you are dealing with is the essential first step in any project here.
Much of our Greenwich work is careful refurbishment: repairing and upgrading period homes, reinstating historic joinery and plan form, and improving comfort and energy performance without eroding character. Where garden-facing kitchen extensions or loft conversions are appropriate, they have to be judged against the roofscape and the wider view, particularly near the park and the river. On listed buildings we approach every intervention on its own terms, documenting significance and designing changes that can be justified to conservation officers rather than assumed to be acceptable.
Because the Royal Borough of Greenwich weighs proposals against the World Heritage Site and its conservation areas, and because so many homes are listed, we build the consent strategy in from the start. That means confirming listing and designations, preparing the heritage justification, and coordinating the structural, services and building control input that sensitive historic fabric demands. Our goal is work that respects the exceptional context of Greenwich while giving you a clear, realistic path through listed building consent and planning.
Local analysis
Greenwich combines highly sensitive heritage settings, terraces, listed buildings, flats, upper parts, park-edge homes and town-centre buildings, so the service route can shift from residential design to heritage evidence quickly.
The planning reality is shaped by conservation areas, listed buildings, park and World Heritage settings, views, roofscape, mixed-use streets and public-realm visibility.
Technical constraints include old fabric, fire escape, acoustic separation, drainage, ventilation, structural openings, damp, services routing and working in busy heritage streets.
Delivery should make the difference between planning evidence, listed-building information, building regulations, freeholder packages, tender detail and construction protection explicit.
Most delays here come from starting drawings before a proper record of the building exists. A measured survey capturing floor levels, wall thicknesses, joinery profiles and roof geometry is usually the first commitment, because on a Georgian terrace near Croom’s Hill or an Italianate villa towards Maze Hill the fabric rarely matches assumptions. A photographic record of rooms, features and the street frontage then supports the significance argument any heritage justification depends on. Where a proposal touches a roof or a garden elevation, contextual views showing the change against neighbouring roofscape tend to answer the question an officer would otherwise raise.
Sequencing matters as much as content. Pre-application advice, where it is offered, is generally worth taking before a scheme hardens, and any listed building consent is better prepared alongside the planning submission than after it, since the two are judged on different tests. A validated householder application carries a statutory target of around eight weeks, though heritage cases can run longer, and that clock starts only once the submission is complete. Building regulations drawings are a separate exercise, whether by full plans or building notice, and notices under the Party Wall etc. Act need their own lead time wherever work touches a shared wall. Treating these as parallel tracks rather than a queue usually shortens the overall programme.
Local services
residential architects for Greenwich houses, flats and townhouses.
planning applications and conservation-area advice.
listed-building consent and heritage statement support.
flat refurbishment and Licence to Alter packages.
building regulations drawings and technical design coordination.
tender documentation and construction-stage support.
Local evidence
Greenwich should be checked through Royal Greenwich conservation material, Greenwich Park setting records, listed-building information and the wider heritage landscape around the town centre.
Greenwich mixes highly sensitive historic/riverside settings with ordinary family stock; confirm CA, listing and any strategic heritage setting for the pin rather than applying World Heritage-level assumptions everywhere in SE.
Royal Greenwich conservation material for Greenwich Park identifies it as one of the conservation areas in western Greenwich and part of a highly sensitive heritage setting.
South-east London heritage settings can involve more than one authority or source record, so the borough boundary should be confirmed before the service route is fixed.
Appraisals, maps, listed-building records, tree constraints and previous decisions should be checked before treating a south-east London extension or refurbishment as routine.
Local process
confirm the exact Royal Greenwich conservation area and any listed-building status.
check Greenwich Park, Maritime Greenwich or other heritage-setting constraints where relevant.
review views, roofscape, frontage and public visibility before external design is fixed.
confirm whether the property is a house, flat, upper part, listed building or managed apartment.
check fire, acoustic, drainage, structure and access constraints before interior layouts are fixed.
separate planning, listed-building, freeholder, building-control and tender information.
Thinking about a project in Greenwich?
Send the address and a short description. We will confirm the likely approval route and the drawings your project needs.
Local planning
The Royal Borough of Greenwich is the local planning authority, and central Greenwich lies within, or immediately alongside, the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site — encompassing the Old Royal Naval College, the Queen’s House and the Royal Observatory. This is one of London’s most sensitive historic settings, with a high concentration of listed buildings and several conservation areas including the Greenwich Town Centre and West Greenwich areas. Works that affect a listed building’s special architectural or historic interest can require listed building consent in addition to any planning permission, so the proposed work must be checked before it starts.
Even for unlisted homes, alterations here can be assessed against their contribution to the setting of the World Heritage Site and a conservation area, so roof changes, extensions and window replacements may receive close scrutiny. Permitted development can be restricted by conservation-area status, an Article 4 direction, listing, planning conditions or flat tenure. We confirm the route for the exact address before recommending an application or Lawful Development Certificate.
Central Greenwich sits within or beside the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site and conservation areas such as West Greenwich and Greenwich Town Centre, where the historic setting is a primary planning consideration.
Greenwich contains a high number of listed buildings; internal and external alterations to these usually require listed building consent, and we advise confirming a property’s listing before designing any changes.
For the wider local-authority picture — policies, timescales and application routes — see planning in Greenwich.
Services
Architecture & Design
Interior Design
Extensions & Renovations
Planning & Consents
Heritage & Conservation
Technical & Building Regulations
Leasehold & Licence to Alter
Project Delivery & Support
Nearby
Tell us your address and what you’d like to achieve, and we’ll advise on a sensitive design approach along with the drawings, listed building consent and approvals your Greenwich home may require.
