Building work in Lewisham: area guide

Lewisham Council is the planning and building control authority for Lewisham, which covers SE13, SE4, SE6, SE8, SE12, SE14, SE23 and SE26 and takes in Catford, Deptford, New Cross and Forest Hill. This is our area guide to building work in the borough; for whole-house refurbishment go to Home renovation in Lewisham.

Lewisham has about 133,910 homes on the Council Tax list: 34% pre-1919, 18% interwar and 45% post-war, with flats making up 60% and houses 40%. VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for all 37 statistical areas in Lewisham. Counts rounded by the VOA.

Planning and building control in Lewisham

What Lewisham Council publishes about building work in the borough, with each point linked to the council page it comes from:

• Lewisham says flats or subdivided houses in conservation areas do not have permitted development rights and must seek planning permission for changes to the exterior. lewisham.gov.uk
• Lewisham's Article 4 directions in conservation areas only apply to houses that are in use as a single dwelling house. lewisham.gov.uk
• Lewisham lists alterations to the roof of a house and the addition of a porch, including infilling an open porch, as changes needing planning permission under an Article 4 direction. lewisham.gov.uk
• Lewisham has around 368 nationally listed building entries, most of which are Grade II, and 38 are Grade II*. lewisham.gov.uk
• Lewisham's Duty Planner Standard Service charges £118.82 plus VAT, a total of £142.59, for written advice from a planning officer on simple homeowner projects. lewisham.gov.uk
• Lewisham Council's own building control inspectors visit sites to check that building work complies with building regulations, fire safety, energy conservation and access. lewisham.gov.uk
• Lewisham says that once a building notice is submitted, work can commence within 48 hours. lewisham.gov.uk
• Lewisham uses a full plans application for any new proposal to build above or within 3 metres of a drain or sewer. lewisham.gov.uk
• Lewisham Local Plan Policy QD9 requires proposals for basement development to include a Basement Impact Assessment. lewisham.gov.uk

With 60% of Lewisham's homes flats, the lease comes first on many jobs. Flats have no householder permitted development, so an extension or most external changes to a flat need planning permission from Lewisham Council as well as the freeholder's consent. The 40% that are houses keep the householder rights within the size limits, and in a conservation area a single-storey rear extension survives unless an Article 4 direction removes it. Taking out a wall or a chimney breast is building regulations work, not planning, unless the building is listed.

Reviewed jobs in Lewisham

Our MyBuilder profile holds 1 verified review from jobs in Lewisham. The job titles are the customers' own, as published:

• Replace small section of wooden worktop, sink, tap and gas hob, Crofton Park, 17 Apr 2024 (5 out of 5)

Read every review, including the ones from elsewhere, on our reviews page.

Lewisham covers SE4, SE6, SE8, SE12, SE13, SE14, SE23 and SE26, and it is hillier than people expect. Forest Hill, Telegraph Hill and the slopes towards Sydenham are built on ground that falls away, which shapes gardens, drainage and foundations. The period stock is mostly late-Victorian and Edwardian: bay-fronted terraces, larger villas on the hills, and a large post-war share, from estates to infill where wartime damage was cleared, much of it flats. Knowing which you own tells you what the walls are made of and what any addition will cost to found.

Sloping ground, gardens and drainage shape Lewisham extensions

A rear extension on a sloping plot differs from one on a flat site, and the design of a house extension here starts from levels: between the existing floor and the garden, retaining structures that may be needed at the boundary, and surface water, which finds somewhere to go whether or not you plan for it. Settling it at design stage avoids a damp threshold two winters later.

Foundation depth is the other consequence. Clay subsoil, mature trees and sloping ground all push the design, which the structural engineer determines. We excavate and build to their detail, and Lewisham Council building control inspects the excavation before concrete goes in, a fixed point. In a flat, opening up a room is structural alteration work with the freeholder's consent first.

Popular starting points in Lewisham: kitchen renovation in Lewisham, house extensions across Lewisham, builders in London and Full House Renovation Cost.