London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham
Planning & Conservation in Hammersmith & Fulham
Hammersmith & Fulham is a popular west London family borough. We design extensions, loft conversions, basements and refurbishments across Fulham and Parsons Green — including the borough-wide basement Article 4 regime in force since April 2018.
The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham includes Fulham and Parsons Green, with long Victorian and Edwardian terraces and strong family-home demand. Several conservation areas protect consistent streetscape; property-level Article 4 directions also exist, especially in conservation areas.
Basements are a defining control: H&F confirmed a borough-wide Article 4 on basement development (confirmed 16 April 2018, in force 26 April 2018). Council FAQs state full planning permission is required to create or extend a basement for houses and flats, and applications typically need a Construction Method Statement. Check current Local Plan basement policy pages for the application date.
Side returns, rear kitchen extensions and loft dormers are everyday projects. Party walls, neighbour amenity and public sewers under side passages (Thames Water build-over) sit beside planning. We design terraced-house projects to manage those tracks and prepare coordinated drawings for approval and build.
How planning works here
London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham: process for homeowners
H&F is terrace-extension territory (Fulham, Parsons Green) with a borough-wide basement Article 4 (in force 26 April 2018) — every basement needs full planning permission and construction method evidence.
Householder process
1. Designations and drainage
Confirm conservation area, any property-level Article 4, and whether the plot sits over or near public sewers (build-over agreements are common on Fulham terraces). Flats need full planning for external change more often than houses.
2. Choose householder vs full application
Single dwellings may use householder forms where works qualify; flats and more complex schemes often need full applications. Basements always need full planning under the borough-wide basement Article 4.
3. Design for terrace amenity
Side returns, rear extensions and loft dormers are judged on host relationship, depth/height and neighbour living conditions. Party wall dual-flank notices are programmed early.
4. Basement applications — method statements
H&F’s planning FAQs state you need full planning permission to create or extend a basement (houses and flats). An Article 4 direction on basements was confirmed 16 April 2018 and came into force 26 April 2018. Applications typically require a Construction Method Statement; check current Local Plan basement policy pages (e.g. DC11 references on the council site) for the application date.
Project types & evidence
Side returns and kitchen extensions
Closet-wing infills are the classic SW6 project. Success turns on flank height, glazing, drainage and neighbour windows — not on matching a national average depth.
Lofts
Rear dormers are more commonly proposed than street-facing roof change. Fire and stair strategy must be designed with the loft volume, not after planning.
Basements
Plan for full planning, structural method evidence, neighbour impact and construction logistics on tight streets. Do not assume PD basements anywhere in the borough while the Article 4 remains in force.
Streetscape consistency and living conditions
Conservation areas protect consistent terraces. Outside CAs, amenity and design quality still apply. Incomplete method statements on basements are a common delay mode.
Package notes
Complete existing/proposed sets; for basements, Construction Method Statement and supporting structural information as required by current policy. Coordinate Thames Water build-over where drains are affected.
Official sources used on this page
Policy and Article 4 maps change. Confirm designations for your exact address on the council’s live planning map before relying on any general description.
Areas we cover
Prime neighbourhoods in Hammersmith & Fulham
Hammersmith & Fulham
Architects in Fulham
For homeowners comparing architects in Fulham, the useful starting point is the complete address and proposed work. We use Hammersmith & Fulham’s live conservation-area, Article 4, planning-history and policy records before defining the planning and drawing scope for an extension, loft conversion or refurbishment. The review records what the official sources establish and what still needs a measured survey or specialist input.
View areaHammersmith & Fulham
Architects in Parsons Green
We design extensions, loft conversions and family-home refurbishments around Parsons Green, preparing the planning and building regulation drawings these terraced-house projects require.
View areaKensington & Chelsea / Hammersmith & Fulham
Architects in Earl's Court
We support Earl's Court homeowners and leaseholders with residential design, planning drawings, building regulations information and project coordination for stucco terraces, mansion flats, maisonettes and converted houses around Earl's Court and West Brompton.
View areaArchitects in Brook Green
Three planning geographies frame Brook Green’s sample: Hammersmith and Fulham contains the coordinate, with Richmond upon Thames and Kensington and Chelsea inside the wider search. The conservation search names Brook Green itself, Barons Court, Coningham and Lime Grove, Olympia and Avonmore, and several other records across that wider field. This is a strong signal to verify both authority and designation at the exact address. It is not evidence that every Brook Green property sits within the Brook Green conservation boundary, nor that nearby borough material automatically governs a Hammersmith and Fulham application.
View areaArchitects in West Kensington
Hammersmith and Fulham receives the West Kensington point result, with Kensington and Chelsea appearing inside the surrounding authority search. The conservation return contains 33 raw rows and 32 distinct titles. Two rows carry the title Philbeach under Kensington and Chelsea, and both remain separate because the supplied data gives no row identifier or geometry establishing equivalence. Barons Court, Olympia and Avonmore, Courtfield and Earl’s Court Square show the wider two-borough context. The exact West Kensington property must settle authority, boundary and architectural consequences before any returned record is applied.
View areaHammersmith & Fulham
Architects in Hammersmith
Hammersmith combines a lively riverside and busy centre with quiet residential enclaves of Victorian terraces, most famously the tucked-away streets of Brackenbury Village.
View areaHammersmith & Fulham
Architects in Shepherd’s Bush
Shepherd’s Bush offers some of west London’s more affordable period housing, with grids of Victorian terraces stretching between the Green, Askew Road and the conservation areas that give the neighbourhood its character.
View areaPlanning in Hammersmith & Fulham: FAQs
Do Fulham and Parsons Green extensions need permission?
Might a Fulham extension need a build-over agreement?
Do basements need planning permission in Hammersmith & Fulham?
When did H&F’s basement Article 4 come into force?
Planning a project in Hammersmith & Fulham?
Send us the address, property type and a short description of the work. We will advise whether you are likely to need planning drawings, building regulations drawings, listed building advice or leasehold approval drawings.