Planning & Conservation in Ealing

1. Check the current designation, not an old postcode assumption

Start with Ealing’s live conservation map, planning history and any listing or planning-condition record for the exact address. The council finalised a conservation-area review in 2025, approving both extensions and reductions to boundaries and creating Lammas Park Conservation Area, so older maps and nearby decisions can be out of date.

Where a conservation area applies, select its own appraisal or management material as well as Ealing’s generic management plan. A proposal near Ealing Common, Ealing Green, Brentham or the town centre should be explained against the character of that designation, not against a borough-wide stock paragraph.

2. Read the exact Article 4 direction

Ealing lists six conservation areas with additional Article 4 controls: Bedford Park, Brentham Garden Estate, Churchfields (Half Acre Road), Ealing Town Centre (The Grove), Hanger Hill Garden Estate and Hanger Hill (Haymills) Estate. Article 4 does not ban development; it withdraws specified permitted-development rights so those works need a planning application.

The classes and affected properties differ between directions. Confirm the operative document and map before deciding whether an extension, roof change, porch, exterior finish, boundary, access or hardstanding can proceed without an application.

3. Select the route for the building and proposal

A qualifying single house may use national permitted-development rights if every limit and condition is met and no local restriction or planning condition removes the relevant right. A lawful development certificate is the evidence route when the conclusion needs to be recorded. Larger works or restricted rights generally point to a householder application.

Flats and maisonettes do not have the same Part 1 householder rights. External works to a flat normally use a full application, while a listed building may also need listed building consent and a leasehold property may need the freeholder’s separate approval.

4. Submit one coordinated, validation-ready account

Ealing states that an application is not made valid until the required documents are submitted. The form, ownership certificate, fee, description and supporting documents must agree with the drawings; a heritage, tree, drainage or other report is added only where the site and proposal make it relevant.

After a decision, check every condition before arranging a start. Planning does not discharge building regulations, party wall procedure or leasehold consent, and a consented outline still needs technical information suitable for building control and construction.

Rear, side and kitchen extensions

Ealing’s wider suburban plots do not create an automatic entitlement to a large addition. The useful tests are the host building and street rhythm, garden retained, height and depth at adjoining properties, privacy and outlook, trees and drainage. Existing and proposed sections should show the relationship rather than leave it to a written assurance.

In a conservation area or Article 4 location, roof form, materials, boundaries and front-garden character may be part of the heritage case even when the main floorspace sits at the rear.

Loft conversions and roof changes

A rear dormer on a qualifying house can sometimes be permitted development, but volume, position, materials and all other national conditions still apply. Article 4, listing, a planning condition or the protected character of a conservation area can make an application necessary. A roof plan and a section through the new stair and usable headroom keep the planning and technical proposals aligned.

Flats, maisonettes and converted villas

Do not use the householder permitted-development test for a flat. Establish the demise, freeholder requirements, common parts and any structural or wet-service changes alongside the planning route. A planning approval does not grant permission under the lease.

Character and the effect on neighbours

The relevant conservation appraisal and management material help define what should be preserved or enhanced. For householder work, measured massing, roof form, materials, trees and boundaries should be shown together with daylight, outlook and privacy relationships to adjoining homes.

Accuracy and a property-specific policy route

A nearby approval is context, not a transferable permission. Its site, planning history, date and designations may differ. The submission should identify the current controls for this address and make the written description, forms and every drawing describe the same scheme.

Typical Ealing residential planning set

A red-line location plan, block or site plan, accurate existing and proposed floor plans, all affected elevations, roof plan where the roof changes, and sections through the critical height, garden and neighbour relationships. Add a streetscene or detailed heritage sheet where the designation makes it useful.

The application-stage set establishes the planning envelope. Building regulations drawings then coordinate structure, fire, moisture, ventilation, energy and drainage; they are not replaced by a planning approval.