Planning permission in Greenwich
Constraints: planning.data.gov.uk (ingested 2026-06-15) · Prices: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, October 2025 · 187 sales in October 2025 · Open Government Licence
Planning in Greenwich — the detail
The Royal Borough of Greenwich holds one of London's great heritage set pieces — Maritime Greenwich, a UNESCO World Heritage Site taking in the Old Royal Naval College, the Queen's House, the Royal Observatory and Greenwich Park — and a string of fine conservation areas around it: West Greenwich and East Greenwich, the Ashburnham Triangle, Blackheath (shared with Lewisham), Westcombe Park and the Progress Estate at Eltham. Listed buildings are common in the historic core, where listed building consent runs alongside planning permission.
Greenwich applies Article 4 directions in a number of its conservation areas — among them the Ashburnham Triangle, West Greenwich, East Greenwich, the Rectory Field, the Shrewsbury Park Estate and the Progress Estate — removing permitted development rights so that external alterations visible from the street need a planning application. The borough's Residential Extensions, Basements and Conversions Guidance SPD (2016) sets the detailed design rules for householder work, in and out of the conservation areas.
Beyond the protected areas, Greenwich's Victorian terraces and interwar suburbs in Charlton, Eltham, Plumstead and Kidbrooke support the usual rear extensions, side returns and loft conversions, much of it under permitted development. The address-level check is decisive — the borough's conservation and Article 4 coverage is concentrated but significant, and the riverside and park settings add their own scrutiny.
Policy detail lives in the Greenwich local plan and applications are submitted via the Greenwich planning portal.
Conservation areas in Greenwich
Real · planning.data.gov.uk14 designated areas are recorded in the official dataset for this borough without published names. The area report still checks an address against their real boundaries — see the council's own conservation-area and Article 4 pages for the named schedules.
Source: planning.data.gov.uk · Open Government Licence · 14 recorded.
Article 4 directions in Greenwich
Real · planning.data.gov.ukNo Article 4 geometry for Greenwich appears in the national planning.data.gov.uk dataset, but the Royal Borough operates householder Article 4 directions in a number of its conservation areas — among them the Ashburnham Triangle, West Greenwich, East Greenwich, the Rectory Field, the Shrewsbury Park Estate and the Progress Estate — removing permitted development rights so that visible external alterations need planning permission. The Residential Extensions, Basements and Conversions Guidance SPD sets the design rules. 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.
What gets built in Greenwich
Charlton, Eltham and Plumstead terraces extend under PD; the Greenwich, Blackheath and Westcombe Park conservation areas need a full application.
Costs & planning route →Workable on the Victorian terraces of Greenwich, Charlton and the Lewisham-border streets; conservation designation decides PD versus a full application.
Costs & planning route →Routine on the terraces and semis of Charlton, Eltham and Plumstead under PD; the conservation areas scrutinise dormers.
Costs & planning route →Covered by the Residential Extensions, Basements and Conversions SPD; expect a full application with structural and, near the river, flood-risk evidence.
Costs & planning route →Generous gardens in Eltham, Charlton and Blackheath suit garden rooms under PD; conservation-area designation and height and incidental-use limits are the constraints.
Costs & planning route →Greenwich postcode by postcode
SE10 is the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage core — the Old Royal Naval College, Queen's House and Royal Observatory — wrapped by…
Area report →SE3 covers the Blackheath and Westcombe Park conservation areas around the heath (Blackheath is shared with Lewisham). Georgian an…
Area report →SE7 is Charlton — the Charlton Village conservation area around Charlton House and the Rectory Field, which carries an Article 4 d…
Area report →SE9 is Eltham — home to the Progress Estate, a celebrated First World War garden suburb with an Article 4 direction, and Eltham Pa…
Area report →SE18 covers Woolwich, the Royal Arsenal riverside and the Shrewsbury Park Estate conservation area (which carries an Article 4 dir…
Area report →Greenwich planning, asked straight
Is my Greenwich home in a conservation area?
Which Greenwich conservation areas have Article 4 directions?
Will I need listed building consent in Greenwich?
Do I need planning permission for a rear extension or loft in Greenwich?
How do I check constraints for a Greenwich address?
Related reading
If your home is listed, planning permission is only half the story.
Read the guide →Designated land edits the rulebook — here's the exact redline.
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 Greenwich postcode for the live constraint check — conservation area, Article 4 and sold-price comparables, cited to source.
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