Planning permission in Bromley
Constraints: planning.data.gov.uk (ingested 2026-06-15) · Prices: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, October 2025 · 321 sales in October 2025 · Open Government Licence
Planning in Bromley — the detail
Bromley is the largest London borough by area and the greenest — more than half of it is Green Belt and Metropolitan Open Land, concentrated in the rural south and east around Downe, Cudham, Chelsfield, Keston and Biggin Hill, where new building is tightly restricted by Green Belt policy. Its 69 conservation areas are the second-most of any borough Planning Permission Checker covers and run from Chislehurst, Bickley Park and Sundridge to the village cores of Hayes, Keston, Farnborough and Chelsfield, the Beckenham streets and parks, and the planned interwar suburb of Petts Wood.
Bromley has made a series of Article 4 directions that reach householders: alongside removing office-to-residential and HMO conversion rights, the borough has withdrawn permitted development rights for certain upward (additional-storey) extensions and roof alterations, so adding a storey, or some roof works that would be permitted development elsewhere, need planning permission here. Detailed design guidance follows the borough's adopted Local Plan (2019) and its Urban Design Guide. In the conservation areas and the Green Belt, the bar is higher again.
Across the suburban heart of the borough — the interwar semi-detached stock of Bromley, Beckenham, Orpington and Petts Wood, on generous plots with side access — rear extensions, side extensions and loft conversions are the staple projects, and much of it keeps permitted development rights. The address-level check is what confirms whether Green Belt, a conservation area or one of the borough's Article 4 directions changes the route.
Policy detail lives in the Bromley local plan and applications are submitted via the Bromley planning portal.
Conservation areas in Bromley
Real · planning.data.gov.ukEvery designated conservation area in Bromley from the official dataset — inside one, permitted development narrows and design scrutiny rises.
- Aldersmead Road, Beckenham
- Alexandra Cottages (Parish Lane)
- Barnmead Road, Beckenham
- Beckenham Place Park
- Belvedere Road, Anerley
- Bickley Park
- Biggin Hill RAF Station
- Bromley Common
- Bromley Town Centre
- Bromley, Hayes and Keston Commons
- Broomhill, Orpington
- Cator Road, Sydenham
- Chancery Lane, Beckenham
- Chelsfield
- Chislehurst
- Chislehurst Road, Petts Wood
- Copers Cope
- Crystal Palace Park
- Cudham Village
- Downe
- Downs Hill, Beckenham
- Durham Avenue
- Elm Road
- Farnborough Park
- Farnborough Village
- Garden Road
- Hayes Village
- Keston Park, Farnborough
- Keston Village
- Manor Way, Beckenham
- Mavelstone Road, Bickley
- Nash
- Park Langley, Beckenham
- Penge High Street
- Shortlands
- Southend Road, Beckenham
- St Mary Cray
- St Paul's Cray
- Station Square, Petts Wood
- Sundridge Avenue
- The Broadoaks Estate
- The Chenies, Petts Wood
- The Priory, Orpington
…plus 26 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 Bromley
Real · planning.data.gov.ukNo Article 4 geometry for Bromley appears in the national planning.data.gov.uk dataset, but the borough has made several directions, some of which reach householders: as well as removing office-to-residential and small-HMO conversion rights, Bromley has withdrawn permitted development rights for certain upward (additional-storey) extensions and roof alterations, so those works need planning permission. Green Belt and conservation-area designation are the borough's other major controls. Check the council's Article 4 register for the direction that applies at a given address.
Source: planning.data.gov.uk · Open Government Licence. Checked at address level by the area report.
What gets built in Bromley
Interwar semis in Bromley, Beckenham and Orpington extend routinely under PD; conservation areas and the Green Belt's disproportionate-addition limits are the exceptions.
Costs & planning route →Workable where Victorian terraces survive in Penge, Beckenham and Bromley; conservation and Green Belt designations are the constraints to check.
Costs & planning route →A staple on the interwar suburban stock; the borough's roof-alteration Article 4 and conservation areas can require permission for some dormers — check first.
Costs & planning route →Less common on the borough's generous-plot stock; a full application with structural and ground-condition evidence is expected, with Green Belt and conservation limits on top.
Costs & planning route →The borough's large suburban gardens are ideal for garden rooms under PD; Green Belt and conservation areas are where outbuilding rights tighten.
Costs & planning route →Bromley postcode by postcode
BR1 covers Bromley Town Centre and the leafy Sundridge Avenue and Mavelstone Road conservation areas towards Bickley. Suburban sto…
Area report →BR2 runs from Bickley Park through Hayes Village to Keston Village and Keston Park, with the Green Belt and the Hayes and Keston c…
Area report →BR3 is Beckenham — the Copers Cope, Cator Road, Park Langley and Beckenham Place Park conservation areas among them. Edwardian and…
Area report →BR6 reaches the Farnborough Village and Chelsfield conservation areas and the rural Green Belt around Downe and Cudham, where new …
Area report →BR7 is Chislehurst — the large Chislehurst conservation area around the commons, with the Petts Wood planned suburb (the Chenies, …
Area report →SE20 covers Penge and Anerley — the Penge High Street and Belvedere Road conservation areas, with Crystal Palace Park on the bound…
Area report →Bromley planning, asked straight
Is my Bromley property in the Green Belt?
Do Bromley's Article 4 directions affect home extensions?
Is my Bromley home in a conservation area?
Do I need planning permission for a rear extension or loft in Bromley?
How do I check constraints for a Bromley address?
Related reading
Four roof forms, four budgets — and one big conservation premium.
Read the guide →Real ranges from real projects — not brochure numbers.
Read the guide →The designation nobody's heard of until it refuses their extension.
Read the guide →What applies at your address?
Borough-level rules only narrow it down. Enter a Bromley postcode for the live constraint check — conservation area, Article 4 and sold-price comparables, cited to source.
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.