Richmond upon Thames
We design extensions, refurbishments and sensitive alterations for Richmond’s period homes and riverside properties, within the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames’ strong conservation and green-setting context.
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The short answer
Much of it, yes. Richmond town centre is the borough's historic core and lies largely within the Central Richmond Conservation Area, designated in 1969 with an appraisal adopted on 20 November 2023. The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames decides applications, and further conservation areas cover Richmond Green, Richmond Riverside, Richmond Hill and Old Deer Park, so confirm the designation for your exact address before designing alterations.
Planning at a glance
Richmond
| Local planning authority | London Borough of Richmond upon Thames |
|---|---|
| Conservation area | Central Richmond Conservation Area — appraisal adopted 20 November 2023 (designated 1969) |
| 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 | Richmond town centre is the historic core of the borough and falls predominantly within the Central Richmond Conservation Area, whose appraisal (adopted 20 November 2023) describes it as the commercial heart of the town. |
| Where most projects start | Planning Route Review — £395 inc. VAT, credited in full against your package if you proceed. Find my package → |
Richmond is among the most attractive and historic of London’s riverside districts, with Georgian and Victorian houses, a celebrated Green, and a setting shaped by the Thames and Richmond Park. The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is known for strong design and conservation policy, extensive conservation-area coverage and a high number of listed buildings, so external alterations and additions are designed and assessed with care.
Typical projects include rear and side extensions to family houses, whole-house refurbishment of period homes, loft conversions, and sensitive alterations to listed and conservation-area properties. Proximity to the river, the Green and protected views can introduce additional considerations, and permitted development rights are often restricted in the borough’s conservation areas. Where properties are listed, internal as well as external change can require consent.
Richmond proposals are assessed by the borough against its local plan, conservation-area appraisals and the listing of the building. We design to those standards, coordinate the structural, heritage and party wall input these projects require, and prepare the planning, listed building consent and building regulations drawings — while being clear that planning outcomes cannot be guaranteed.
Local analysis
Richmond projects can involve Green-side listed or sensitive buildings, Riverside homes, Central Richmond town properties, Old Deer Park settings, mansion flats and hillside houses with views and landscape sensitivity.
The address should be checked against Richmond conservation-area appraisals, including Richmond Green, Richmond Riverside, Central Richmond, Richmond Hill and Old Deer Park where relevant.
A Richmond package may need to answer Richmond planning, conservation or tree officers, freeholders or estate managers, building control, heritage or landscape consultants and the contractor.
Richmond homes can be constrained by listed fabric, river or flood issues, slope, retaining conditions, trees, views, garden access, acoustic upgrades and careful services integration.
Tender information should plan access, deliveries, parking, protection of historic fabric, neighbour communication, tree protection, drainage and any method statements required for sensitive settings.
In Richmond the designation check belongs at the start, not after drawings exist. The borough's conservation areas here cover markedly different settings: Central Richmond around the historic commercial core, first designated in 1969 with its current appraisal adopted on 20 November 2023, together with Richmond Green, Richmond Riverside, Richmond Hill and Old Deer Park. Each appraisal can inform how proposals are assessed, permitted development rights are often curtailed within these designations, and listing adds consent requirements that reach inside the house. Establishing which designations cover the exact address, and whether river, slope or tree context adds evidence, is the first genuinely useful task.
That order protects the programme. A measured survey produces reliable existing drawings; pre-application advice, where the project warrants it, tests the principle before a full package is commissioned; and a householder application then runs to a statutory target of around eight weeks once validated. Where historic fabric is affected, listed building consent is prepared alongside the planning submission rather than after it. Party wall procedures under the Party Wall etc. Act and the building regulations package, whether full plans or a building notice, can advance in parallel once the planning strategy is settled, so the consented design and the technical design arrive together. We plan that sequence openly, while being honest that no consent can be promised.
Georgian and Victorian houses enlarge in different ways, and Richmond holds both alongside riverside and Green-facing properties, mansion flats and hillside homes. On period terraces the workable space usually sits to the rear and in the roof, but within a conservation area the roofscape is part of the public scene: dormers and rooflights that would be visible from the street, the Green or the river need to be tested against the relevant appraisal before a loft layout is fixed. Where the building is listed, internal replanning as well as external alteration can need consent, which tends to favour refurbishment approaches that keep the historic plan form legible while services and thermal performance are upgraded discreetly.
Hillside and riverside plots add technical layers that shape the drawings as much as the design: slope and retaining conditions, flood and drainage context, tree protection and constrained construction access. It helps to keep the two drawing stages distinct. Planning drawings must explain massing, materials and heritage or landscape impact convincingly; building regulations drawings then resolve structure, insulation, drainage and fire matters. Mixing the stages is a common source of abortive work, so we settle the planning package first and grow the technical package from a measured survey rather than assumptions. Where permitted development rights survive, a lawful development certificate can record the position formally before money is spent on site.
Local services
Richmond advice should identify which conservation-area appraisal, landscape setting, listed status and technical route affect the project.
For sensitive homes, the package should connect planning justification to buildable details, tree protection, drainage, retrofit and contractor method.
Local evidence
Richmond lists Central Richmond, Richmond Green, Richmond Riverside, Richmond Hill and Old Deer Park conservation areas, and explains that conservation-area appraisals can assist development-control decisions.
Richmond Green.
Richmond Riverside.
Old Deer Park.
Richmond upon Thames.
Central Richmond Conservation Area.
Richmond lists Central Richmond No. 17 as designated 14 January 1969 with later extensions.
Richmond lists Richmond Green No. 3 as designated 14 January 1969.
Richmond lists Richmond Riverside No. 4 as designated 14 January 1969 with later extensions.
Richmond lists Old Deer Park No. 57 as designated 12 June 1990 and extended on 7 November 2005.
Check Richmond conservation-area appraisals and statements for the exact address.
Check listed-building records, tree records, flood context, view/landscape setting, planning history and lease or freeholder rules.
Check drainage, retaining conditions, access, services, fire and fabric protection before tender or site start.
Central Richmond Conservation Area. Richmond town centre is the historic core of the borough and falls predominantly within the Central Richmond Conservation Area, whose appraisal (adopted 20 November 2023) describes it as the commercial heart of the town. Recorded 20 November 2023 (designated 1969).
Local process
Is the property in Richmond Green, Richmond Riverside, Central Richmond, Richmond Hill, Old Deer Park or another Richmond conservation area?
Does listed status, river/flood context, slope, views, trees, leasehold consent or landscape setting change the route?
Is the immediate need planning strategy, heritage evidence, technical drawings, tender support or construction-stage coordination?
Richmond conservation-area appraisal or statement for Richmond Green, Richmond Riverside, Central Richmond, Richmond Hill or Old Deer Park.
listed-building record, view or landscape context, tree information and Thames/flood information.
planning history, lease/freeholder records, survey drawings and photographs of elevations, garden or river setting.
Thinking about a project in Richmond?
Send the address and a short description. We will confirm the likely approval route and the drawings your project needs.
Local planning
Richmond lies within the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, known for strong design and conservation policy and extensive conservation-area coverage.
Proximity to the river, Richmond Green and protected views can add planning considerations.
Richmond has a rich historic core, riverside and Green with extensive conservation-area coverage and many listed buildings.
Richmond contains many listed buildings, requiring listed building consent for a range of alterations.
For the wider local-authority picture — policies, timescales and application routes — see planning in Richmond upon Thames.
Services
Extensions & Renovations
Planning & Consents
Heritage & Conservation
Technical & Building Regulations
Leasehold & Licence to Alter
Nearby
Tell us about your Richmond property and plans. We will advise on the planning, conservation and listing position and the drawings required.
