Planning permission in Bexley
Constraints: planning.data.gov.uk (ingested 2026-09-08) · Prices: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, January 2026 · 161 sales in January 2026 · Open Government Licence
Search Bexley planning applications
Looking for an existing application rather than checking a new project? Open the council's official planning service to find its application search. Our guide explains how to compare useful precedents without treating another address's approval as a guarantee for yours.
Open the official Bexley planning service →How to read planning applications →
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 | £408,962 |
| Annual price change | +1.1% |
Conservation areas and Article 4 directions: planning.data.gov.uk, ingested 2026-09-08 · Householder approval rates: MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS2), 2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 · House prices: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, January 2026 · 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.
Free, and it stays free — no account, no payment. The check reads official geometry at the property's own coordinates; it cannot read a lease, a listing or the condition of the building.
Who to talk to about a Bexley property
Constraint data tells you what applies. It does not draw a scheme, argue a case with Bexley's planners, or inspect a building. For that this site points at two separately regulated practices — which one you need depends on the job in hand.
The architect's door: designing the scheme and getting it consented — drawings, the planning application and the building-regulations package.
- Residential design for extensions, lofts, basements and conversions
- Planning applications, pre-application advice and appeals
- Lawful development certificates
- Building-regulations and technical design drawings
- Conservation-area design and listed building consent applications
The chartered-surveyor door: professional judgement on condition, risk, party wall matters and leasehold process.
- Building surveys, RICS home surveys and defect diagnosis
- Party wall matters and awards
- Technical due diligence before a purchase
- Leasehold and major-works advisory (Section 20)
- Dilapidations and building pathology
Both practices are independent and separately regulated — Hampstead Chartered Surveyors & Building Consultancy is an RICS-regulated firm (Firm Reg. 923064); Hampstead Architecture and Planning are ARB-registered architects. We publish no fees for their work: each quotes directly for the job in front of them. Your enquiry goes to the practice you choose — we never pass your details to builders or other third parties.
Planning terms on this page
Conservation Area · Article 4 Direction · Permitted development · Full planning · LDC · Determination period
Plain-English definitions · full planning glossary →
Planning Permission Checker provides planning and cost intelligence for early feasibility only. It is not legal, planning, valuation, architectural, structural, or surveying advice. All estimates are indicative and must be verified by qualified professionals before purchase, design, planning submission, or construction.
Cost estimates are indicative only — not a quotation. Final price depends on survey, specification, structure, access, party wall matters, VAT, professional fees, and contractor availability.
Planning outcomes are not guaranteed. Local planning authorities make final decisions.