Journal
Perspective on prime London architecture
Short, considered pieces on design, planning and process — alongside our practical how-to guides.
IllustrativePlanning ·
Solar Panels and Permitted Development: What Changed on 27 August 2026
From 27 August 2026 the solar permitted development rules were rewritten: plug-in solar is expressly covered for the first time — including for blocks of flats — houses get reworked limits, and conservation areas carry a wider restriction. A one-year saving preserves what the rewrite removed.
ReadPlanning ·
The National Scheme of Delegation: Officer Decisions from 31 October 2026
From 31 October 2026, householder planning applications in England — the typical extension or loft application — must be decided by planning officers, not a committee. Here is what changes, what does not, and the exceptions worth knowing.
ReadCosts ·
The December 2026 Planning Fee Increase: What Is Changing
Draft regulations laid in July would lift the householder planning fee from £548 to £575 and put a flat £310 fee on most prior approvals from 8 December 2026 — if Parliament approves. What that means for an autumn submission.
ReadProcess ·
Blackheath: Dual Borough Before Any Basement Box
SE3 is not one planning culture. Fix Royal Borough of Greenwich or Lewisham before lightwells and temporary works are drawn.
ReadProcess ·
Heath-Edge Basements Are Not Village Digs
A dig beside Hampstead Heath is a slope, tree and dual-borough project. Treat it like a flat village rear extension and the package fails early.
ReadPlanning ·
Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust Consent Is Not Barnet Planning
In Hampstead Garden Suburb, Barnet planning and Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust consent are parallel tracks. Designing for only one is how redesign starts after a grant.
ReadProcess ·
Check Who Owns the Loft Before the Dormer
A beautiful dormer drawing is worthless if the lease never included the roof void. Ownership first.
ReadProcess ·
One Design for Planning and Licence to Alter
Freeholder surveyors and planning officers read different packs. They should not be reading different designs.
ReadPlanning ·
Why Invalid Planning Applications Waste Months
An invalid application is not “slow planning”. It is a package that never entered assessment. Here is what complete looks like.
ReadPlanning ·
Why Dulwich Projects Stall After a Southwark Grant
On much of the Dulwich Estate, written Scheme of Management approval sits beside Southwark planning. Treating them as the same process is how projects stall after a grant.
ReadPlanning ·
Why Highgate Needs a Borough Check First
Highgate is one place in the mind and three authorities on the map. Get the borough wrong and the planning package fails before design is even read.
ReadDrawings ·
What a Householder Planning Drawing Package Actually Contains
Owners often buy “planning drawings” without knowing what the fixed fee covers — and what sits outside it. Here is the honest sheet list.
ReadPlanning ·
Biodiversity Net Gain: The Small-Sites Exemption in Force since 6 August 2026
Since 6 August 2026, developments on sites of 0.2 hectares or less have been exempt from mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain. For a home extension it changes nothing — you were already exempt — but for small plots and new dwellings it is a real shift.
ReadPlanning ·
Proposed Changes to Householder Permitted Development: Where Things Stand
The 2024 proposals to enlarge householder permitted development have not become law. As of late August 2026 they remain proposal-only — and in conservation areas they may not apply at all.
ReadPlanning ·
Heat Pumps and Permitted Development: What Changed in 2025
The 2025 permitted development changes made air source heat pumps far easier to install across most of England. In prime London — conservation areas, listed buildings and flats — they change surprisingly little.
ReadCosts ·
The April 2026 Planning Fee Increase: What Changed
A dated explanation of the April 2026 increase that set the householder fee at £548 — and why the current figure must be checked before an application.
ReadBuying ·
Buying With a Project in Mind: What to Check First
If your offer assumes you can extend, convert or combine, it is worth testing that assumption before you exchange — not after.
ReadPerspective ·
What Makes Prime London Homes Different to Design
In prime London, the brief is rarely the hard part. The constraints — and the standard of coordination they demand — are what set this work apart.
ReadProcess ·
Why Early Feasibility Saves Time and Money on London Projects
The most expensive mistakes are made before design even begins — on untested assumptions about what a property can become.
ReadDesign ·
Reading a London Street: How Context Shapes Good Design
Before deciding what to add to a London home, it pays to read the street it sits in — its rhythm, materials and lines.
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