Kitchen Extensions Woolwich
Rear, side return and wraparound kitchen extensions in Woolwich, the room, the services and the kitchen built as one job.
- Rated 4.9 from 31 reviews on MyBuilder
- London guide: £45,000 to £97,500
- Free site survey, itemised quote
In Woolwich a kitchen extension is a house job, and houses are the smaller part of the stock: 74% of homes are flats and 26% are houses. The houses are terraces far more than anything else: 24% of homes against 2% semi-detached or detached. So the work here is a side return infill or a rear room with roof lights on a terraced house, planned against the Royal Greenwich Urban Design Guide on depth and width. Flat owners start from a different place, because householder permitted development does not cover flats. We build the structure, drainage and the finished kitchen under one programme.
In Woolwich, a rear kitchen extension of about 30 square metres typically costs £45,000 to £97,500 excluding VAT, or £60,000 to £100,000 for a side return (indicative London ranges, Resi, MyBuilder and Checkatrade, 2026). GS Renovation Ltd, a building contractor based in Potters Bar, does the work in Woolwich: the structural engineer we appoint designs the foundations and steel, we build the room and fit the kitchen, and a registered electrician certifies the electrics.
Price guide
| Work | Indicative London range |
|---|---|
| Rear kitchen extension, about 30 square metres, ex VAT | £45,000 to £97,500 |
| Side return kitchen extension, standard to high specification | £60,000 to £100,000 |
| Wraparound kitchen extension, standard to high specification | £80,000 to £130,000 |
| Side return build rate, per square metre of new floor | £2,400 to £3,200 |
| Kitchen supplied and fitted within the extension | £5,000 to £14,000 |
| Structural engineer's fee | £950 to £2,500 |
Indicative London ranges (Resi, MyBuilder and Checkatrade, 2026), not a quotation. Prices checked September 2026. Full breakdown: Extension Cost and Planning Guide.
Quick estimate for Woolwich
Woolwich range: choose above
The depth a Woolwich terrace kitchen can reach at the back
A rear kitchen room on a Woolwich terrace is planned against the depth the Royal Greenwich Urban Design Guide calls typical, which is a 3.6m single-storey projection from the rear. The guide allows more where neighbour amenity is not compromised, so a deeper room is a design argument your designer makes, not a given. Under national permitted development the plain limit for a terrace is three metres, rising to six metres through prior approval outside designated land.
What that means on site in Woolwich is a decision made early. A three metre room can go ahead as permitted development where the house keeps its rights. A 3.6m room sits inside Royal Greenwich's own guide but past the national limit, so it needs prior approval or a householder application, and only the application inside a conservation area. We price and programme both so you can see what the extra depth buys: a larger island, a dining table clear of the worktop run, or simply more floor under the roof lights.
Housing in Woolwich
For Woolwich the Council Tax list gives about 21,990 homes; by type 74% flats and 26% houses, by age 75% post-war, 2% interwar and 24% older than 1919. Since most homes here are flats, only a ground floor flat in Woolwich with its own garden can extend its kitchen.
Side returns and L-shaped Woolwich houses in the conservation area
A side return infill fills the narrow passage beside the back addition of a Victorian house, and in Woolwich that is the job the older terraces ask for. The Urban Design Guide says a side extension should typically be no more than 50% of the width of the original house. On a return, the infill runs along the existing back addition and the passage is narrower than half the house, so the design work goes into the roof line against the neighbour.
The Woolwich Conservation Area was designated in May 2019, and inside it the rules tighten. The guide says planning permission is generally needed for all side extensions in conservation areas, including side infills to L-shaped properties, and the conservation area appraisal supports alterations and extensions to heritage assets only where they sustain and enhance their significance. For a Woolwich house inside the boundary, allow for a householder application and for materials and glazing that answer the street.
Drains, steel and the chargeable area on a Woolwich extension
Before a Woolwich kitchen extension is drawn, find the drains. Where Royal Greenwich is the building control body, building over or within three metres of a public sewer needs a full plans application, not a building notice. On a terrace the shared run can cross the yard. We lift the inspection chamber covers at the survey and trace the run, so the route and any build-over agreement with the sewer owner are settled before the footings are dug.
The steel that opens the old back wall into the new room also shapes the building control charge in Woolwich. Where an extension opens an existing elevation into an open-plan layout, Royal Greenwich adds half the floor area of the rooms next to it to the chargeable area. The structural engineer we appoint designs the beam and its padstones. We prop the old wall, cut the opening and set the steel once the new piers can carry it, then the roof bears on it. Steel bearing into a party wall is notifiable work, and the building owner serves those notices.
Roof, glazing and completion papers for a Woolwich kitchen
The flat roof of a new Woolwich kitchen is a roof, not a terrace. The Urban Design Guide says the council generally does not support new terraces or balconies above the flat roof of extensions, so a first floor door opening onto it is unlikely to be supported. We design the roof for roof lights and a clean parapet, with falls and outlets sized for the drainage the new kitchen already needs, and keep the upper windows as they are.
Completion in Woolwich needs paperwork as much as plaster. Where Royal Greenwich is the building control body, for a domestic extension it may ask for an electrical installation certificate, a fire alarm commissioning certificate, a gas certificate and the double-glazing specification before it signs off. A registered electrician certifies the new kitchen circuits and a registered gas engineer handles any hob or boiler work. We collect those papers as each trade finishes, so the file is ready when the last cabinet door is hung.
- Rear, side return and wraparound kitchen extensions
- Boiler relocation and flue changes on the enclosed rear wall
- Kitchen-diner layouts planned before the foundations
VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for all 6 statistical areas in Woolwich. Counts rounded by the VOA.
Trusted Kitchen Extensions in Woolwich
A kitchen extension is two jobs that often get split between two firms: the builder who puts up the room and the fitter who installs the kitchen. We run both in one programme, so the drainage runs, the steel, the electrics and the plumbing positions are set for the kitchen you have chosen before the floor is poured. You deal with one site lead from the survey to the final clean, and you get a written quotation after a survey of the house.
- Rooflights set out against the engineer's steel layout
- Kitchen layout agreed before the foundations, so the services land in the right place
- Paperwork and certificates handed over for when you sell
Reviewed jobs near Woolwich
1 MyBuilder review from Woolwich, with each customer's own job title:
- Replace kitchen extractor hob, Woolwich, 27 Apr 2024 (5 out of 5)
Read all 31 on our reviews page.
Giorgio is an excellent and intelligent workman, and with very reasonable prices! He installed a kitchen extractor fan in a complicated situation…
George was brilliant. Lovely bloke, very reasonably priced and a perfectionist to boot. He completed our small kitchen renovation with care and great…
George was very friendly and helpful from start to finish. He worked really hard to ensure our kitchen was installed to a high standard and was…
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about Kitchen Extensions Woolwich
How does your kitchen extensions price in Woolwich compare with a national firm's?
Against a national firm, a GS Renovation quotation for kitchen extensions in Woolwich is more transparent: every line within £45,000 to £97,500 excluding VAT for a rear kitchen extension of about 30 square metres (indicative) is visible, including the engineer's design and the Royal Borough of Greenwich building control fee. National pricing tends to be a rate per square metre for an SE18 address nobody has visited, which misses that whether the steel over the new opening can sit flush decides how high the wall units beneath it can go.
How far back can a kitchen extension on a Woolwich terrace go?
Three metres beyond the original rear wall is the national permitted development limit for a terrace. The Royal Greenwich Urban Design Guide treats a 3.6m single-storey rear projection as typically appropriate, and more can be considered where neighbour amenity is not compromised. Past three metres you need prior approval, which is not available in a conservation area, or a planning application. Settle the depth before the kitchen layout is drawn.
Can a Woolwich flat owner extend the kitchen without planning permission?
No. Householder permitted development rules for extensions apply to houses only, not to flats and maisonettes, so any extension to a flat needs planning permission. You will normally also need the freeholder's consent under the lease. A flat owner is often better served by a refit inside the existing walls, which we can also carry out.
Does a side return in the Woolwich Conservation Area need permission?
Yes. Nationally, every side extension on designated land such as a conservation area needs householder permission, and Royal Greenwich's Urban Design Guide says the same applies to side infills on L-shaped properties. The Woolwich Conservation Area was designated in May 2019, so check the boundary against your address before the design starts, since the drawings then need to suit a formal application.
Can the kitchen extension roof become a terrace for the bedroom above?
Unlikely. The Royal Greenwich Urban Design Guide says the council generally does not support new terraces or balconies above the flat roof of extensions. Plan the roof as a roof: a good membrane, roof lights over the worktop and island, and outlets that tie into the new drainage. That keeps the application simple and the neighbours' privacy intact.
How wide can a side extension be on a Woolwich house?
The Urban Design Guide says a side extension should typically be no more than 50% of the width of the original house. On a detached or semi-detached house that sets the width of the new kitchen wing. On a Victorian terrace with a back addition, a side return infill fills the passage beside it and the width follows from the existing walls.
What happens if a sewer runs under the planned kitchen?
The building notice route closes. Royal Greenwich requires a full plans application to build over or within three metres of a public sewer, and the sewer owner has its own build-over consent. We trace the drain at the survey, and the drawings then show how the run is protected, diverted or bridged, so the footings are dug to a plan that has already been checked.
Why does knocking through raise the building control charge in Woolwich?
Royal Greenwich counts more floor. Where an extension opens up an existing elevation into an open-plan layout, half the floor area of the rooms next to it is added to the chargeable area. A kitchen that joins the new room to the old dining room is therefore charged on a larger area than the extension alone.
Do you install the kitchen itself or only build the extension?
Both. We build the shell and then fit the kitchen you have chosen, including worktops, appliances, tiling and lighting. Because the same team plans the structure and the fit-out, the waste runs, sockets and extractor route are set for your layout before the walls are plastered, and nothing has to be chased back out later.
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