An extension in Esher is a planning job before it is a building job. Elmbridge now assesses householder applications against its Design Code, with a checklist, a stated plot ratio and numerical tests on a neighbour's light. We build to the drawings your architect gets approved, appoint the structural engineer for the foundations and openings, and coordinate the building control inspections.
The Design Code that now governs extension applications
Elmbridge adopted its Design Code as a supplementary planning document on 17 April 2024. It replaces the council's Design and Character SPD for all planning applications submitted after 6 January 2025. A Design Code Checklist must be submitted as a supporting document with householder planning applications. Elmbridge also requires applicants to state the proposed plot ratio and the plot ratio of every neighbouring plot that shares a boundary with the site. The Design Code gives an indicative plot ratio range of 0.2 to 0.3 for suburban residential areas. The council's Esher character assessment states that the analysis of character and context should be an integral part of a Design and Access Statement.
The council also applies numerical tests to a neighbour's daylight. Beyond 3 metres, Elmbridge expects an extension to sit below a 45 degree line taken from the edge of the nearest adjoining habitable room window. It applies that test to single storey extensions within 8 metres of a neighbour's window, unless they project no more than 3 metres. It applies the same test to two storey extensions closer than 15 metres to a neighbour's window, measured along that sight line. Elmbridge asks for a minimum of 1 metre between any extension above ground floor level and the site boundary, and aims for at least 300mm between the side wall of a single storey extension and the boundary.
Which parts of Esher sit in a conservation area
Three of Elmbridge's conservation areas lie in Esher: Esher, West End and Lakeside Drive. The Esher Conservation Area was designated on 31 July 1973 by Surrey County Council. Elmbridge extended it on 21 June 1983 to take in Clive Road and the adjacent properties on the High Street. The West End Conservation Area was designated on 25 April 1977, and the Lakeside Drive Conservation Area on 26 November 2013.
The 2008 additions to the Esher Conservation Area took in 53 to 65 High Street (odd numbers), 1 to 46 Wolsey Road and 1 to 17 Wolsey Grove. They also took in 1 to 11 Charlotte Mews, the public car park at Heather Place, and trees and public verges on Lammas Lane. No Article 4 direction covers any part of Esher. Six weeks written notice must be given to Elmbridge before lopping or felling a tree greater than 100mm in diameter, measured 1.5 metres above the ground, within a conservation area.
Clive Road, where Elmbridge has published what it likes and dislikes
Elmbridge describes Clive Road, which lies inside the Esher Conservation Area, as of exceptional architectural quality. The Esher appraisal criticises the side extension at number 11 Clive Road, which reveals an incongruously large roof in views up the road. It praises the extension to number 28 for achieving a close match with the original house in materials and detailing, with an added hipped roof that improved the composition.
That is a direct statement of what the council wants from an extension. The Elmbridge Design Code states that the materials and detailing of an extension should match those of the existing building in design, colour and texture. On site that means sourcing brick, mortar colour and roof tile to match, and sampling them before they are laid. We build to the approved drawings and agree the samples with you in advance.
The ground under an Esher extension
Foundation depth is set by what is under your plot, and the published sources do not agree. British Geological Survey 1:50,000 mapping records the bedrock beneath Esher town centre and the conservation area as the Bagshot Formation, sand, part of the Bracklesham Group, of Eocene age, with no superficial deposits mapped over it. The same mapping records the bedrock beneath Claremont Park and Clare Hill as the Bagshot Formation, sand, the same unit that underlies the town centre. Elmbridge's own conservation area appraisal states that the underlying geology of Esher is London Clay.
Nearer the railway the mapping changes. It records river terrace sand and gravel of the Kempton Park Gravel Member as superficial cover around Esher station and the eastern end of Lower Green Road. It records alluvium, a mix of clay, silt, sand and peat, along Lower Green Road itself, west and north of that gravel. Those are different bearing conditions, so a trial hole on your plot settles the depth and the engineer specifies from it.
- Brickwork and mortar matched to the existing elevation
- Flat and pitched roofs with rooflights or lanterns
- Scaffolding, site set-up and safe access on tight London plots
- Drainage diversion and build-over agreements with the water authority
- Insulation, airtightness and thermal detailing to regulations
Trusted House Extensions in Esher
An extension has several consents running in parallel: planning permission, building regulations and, on some plots, tree and flood requirements. We build to the drawings your architect gets approved rather than designing round them, appoint the structural engineer for the foundations, beams and openings, and coordinate the building control application and inspections. Materials are sampled and agreed before they are laid, which is what the Design Code's matching requirement comes down to on site. One point of contact from the first survey to the completion certificate. Fully insured, registered in England, company number 14611254, rated 4.9 from 31 reviews on MyBuilder.
- Drainage diverted or built over with the right approval in place
- Aftercare and snagging support once the job is finished
- Our own trades on site rather than a chain of subcontractors
- Weathertight shell reached before the fit-out begins
- Insulation and thermal detailing to current regulations
- Clean, tidy and reliable tradespeople