Planning permission in Bexley
Constraints: planning.data.gov.uk (ingested 2026-08-01) · Prices: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, December 2025 · 185 sales in December 2025 · Open Government Licence
Planning in Bexley — the detail
Bexley is an outer-south-east-London borough of interwar suburbs and older village cores, running from Bexleyheath and Sidcup to Old Bexley, Crayford and the Thames-side at Erith. Its 31 conservation areas — Old Bexley, Erith Riverside, Foots Cray, North Cray Village, Halfway Street and the Lesney Park and Parkhurst areas among them — protect the historic and best-designed streets, where roof, materials and frontage changes face close control.
Bexley has operated a borough-wide HMO Article 4 direction since 24 September 2017, removing the permitted development right to convert a house (use class C3) to a small HMO (C4) with three to six occupants, so an HMO conversion anywhere in the borough needs planning permission. In the conservation areas, single-storey side extensions up to the boundary are normally acceptable where the design matches the host house — but a full application is required.
Outside the conservation areas, much of Bexley's suburban semi-detached stock keeps permitted development rights for rear extensions, side extensions and loft conversions, on generous plots with side access. The address-level check separates a permitted-development project from a full application in a conservation area, and confirms that the borough-wide HMO direction applies to any HMO plan.
Policy detail lives in the Bexley local plan and applications are submitted via the Bexley planning portal.
Conservation areas in Bexley
Real · planning.data.gov.ukEvery designated conservation area in Bexley from the official dataset — inside one, permitted development narrows and design scrutiny rises.
- Brook Street
- Christ Church
- Crossness
- Erith Riverside
- Erith Road
- Foots Cray
- Halfway Street
- High Beeches
- Iron Mill Lane
- Lesney Park Road
- Longlands Road
- North Cray Village
- Oak Road
- Old Bexley
- Old Forge Way
- Parkhurst
- Red House Lane
- Star Hill
- The Green
- The Hollies
- The Oval
- Willersley Avenue and Braundton Avenue
- Woolwich Road
…plus 8 further designated areas.
Source: planning.data.gov.uk · Open Government Licence. Boundaries are checked at address level by the area report.
Article 4 directions in Bexley
Real · planning.data.gov.ukNo Article 4 geometry for Bexley appears in the national planning.data.gov.uk dataset, but the borough has operated a borough-wide HMO Article 4 direction since 24 September 2017, removing the right to convert a house to a small HMO (three to six occupants), plus householder directions in its conservation areas. Check the council's Article 4 pages for the position at a specific address.
Source: planning.data.gov.uk · Open Government Licence. Checked at address level by the area report.
Key Bexley planning figures
| Conservation areas | 31 |
| Article 4 directions | — |
| Householder applications granted | 95.3% (895 of 939) |
| London average grant rate | 85.6% |
| Rank for lowest grant rate | 31 of 33 |
| Average house price | £413,126 |
| Annual price change | +2.0% |
Conservation areas and Article 4 directions: planning.data.gov.uk, ingested 2026-08-01 · Householder approval rates: MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS2), 2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 · House prices: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, December 2025 · Open Government Licence. Figures are as published on those dates; a designation missing from the national dataset is a gap in the dataset, not proof it does not exist.
What gets built in Bexley
Bexleyheath, Sidcup and Erith semis extend routinely under PD; Old Bexley and the conservation areas need a full application.
Rear extension in Bexley →Workable where Victorian terraces survive in Erith and Bexleyheath; conservation designation decides PD versus a full application.
Side return extension in Bexley →Routine on the Bexleyheath and Sidcup semis under PD; the conservation areas scrutinise dormers.
Loft conversion in Bexley →Uncommon on the borough's suburban stock; a full application with structural and ground-condition evidence is expected, plus conservation-area scrutiny.
Basement extension in Bexley →Large suburban gardens in Bexleyheath and Sidcup suit garden rooms under PD; conservation areas are where outbuilding rights tighten.
Garden room in Bexley →Bexley postcode by postcode
DA5 is Old Bexley — the historic village conservation area on the Cray, with Hall Place nearby and North Cray Village beyond. Insi…
DA5 planning report →DA6 is Bexleyheath — the suburban town centre and the streets towards Danson Park. Much of the interwar stock keeps permitted deve…
DA6 planning report →DA7 covers Barnehurst and northern Bexleyheath, near the Red House Lane conservation area around William Morris's Red House. Subur…
DA7 planning report →DA8 is Erith — the Erith Riverside and Erith Road conservation areas on the Thames. Much of the terrace and suburban stock keeps p…
DA8 planning report →DA15 covers Sidcup and Lamorbey, including the Halfway Street conservation area. Generous interwar plots support extensions and lo…
DA15 planning report →DA14 covers Sidcup and Foots Cray in Bexley — suburban semis and older village cores. Outside conservation areas, permitted develo…
DA14 planning report →DA16 is Welling and East Wickham — interwar Bexley stock with a Greenwich edge. Generous plots support rear extensions under permi…
DA16 planning report →DA17 covers Belvedere and the Erith fringe in Bexley. Riverside and industrial-edge streets sit beside ordinary suburban semis; mu…
DA17 planning report →DA18 is Erith and Thamesmead East in Bexley — a mix of riverside regeneration, later estate stock and suburban streets. Householde…
DA18 planning report →Bexley planning, asked straight
Do I need planning permission to create an HMO in Bexley?
Is my Bexley home in a conservation area?
Do I need planning permission for a rear extension or loft in Bexley?
Can I extend up to the boundary in a Bexley conservation area?
How do I check constraints for a Bexley address?
Related reading
Designated land edits the rulebook — here's the exact redline.
Read the guide →Four roof forms, four budgets — and one big conservation premium.
Read the guide →Real ranges from real projects — not brochure numbers.
Read the guide →What applies at your address?
Borough-level rules only narrow it down. Enter a Bexley postcode for the live constraint check — conservation area, Article 4 and sold-price comparables, cited to source.
Need it in writing for one address? A planning permission report for a Bexley property — from £59, or surveyor-reviewed from £295.
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