Planning permission in Hammersmith and Fulham
Constraints: planning.data.gov.uk (ingested 2026-06-15) · Prices: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, October 2025 · 163 sales in October 2025 · Open Government Licence
Planning in Hammersmith and Fulham — the detail
Hammersmith and Fulham is prime west-London extension and basement territory: long runs of Victorian and Edwardian terraces around Brook Green, Bradmore and Ravenscourt, the mansion stock of Hurlingham and Parson's Green, and the riverside conservation areas of Crabtree and Fulham Reach. Conservation areas cover much of the period grain, so design scrutiny on roofs, materials and rear additions is the norm in the protected streets.
The borough's defining quirk is basements. Since April 2018 Hammersmith and Fulham has operated a borough-wide Article 4 direction that removes permitted development rights for basement excavation — so every basement, anywhere in the borough, needs planning permission and must meet the council's basement policies on extent, structural method and neighbour impact. Parallel Article 4 directions remove the right to convert offices and storage (Class B1/B8) to residential and to create small HMOs.
Outside the conservation areas and the basement controls, the borough's terrace stock supports the usual side-return, rear-extension and loft projects, with prior approval a genuine route for larger rear extensions on unconstrained houses. Tenure is the first check: a high share of homes are flats or maisonettes, which carry no permitted development rights at all.
Policy detail lives in the Hammersmith and Fulham local plan and applications are submitted via the Hammersmith and Fulham planning portal.
Conservation areas in Hammersmith and Fulham
Real · planning.data.gov.ukEvery designated conservation area in Hammersmith and Fulham from the official dataset — inside one, permitted development narrows and design scrutiny rises.
- 3B
- Barclay Road
- Barons Court
- Bishops Park
- Bradmore
- Brook Green
- Central Fulham
- Cleverly Estate
- Colehill Gardens
- Coningham and Lime Grove
- Crabtree
- Dorcas Estate
- Fitzgeorge and Fitzjames
- Fulham Park Gardens
- Fulham Reach
- Gunter Estate
- Hammersmith Broadway
- Hammersmith Grove
- Hammersmith Odeon
- Hammersmith Town Hall
- Hurlingham
- Imperial Square & Gasworks
- Ingersoll and Arminger
- Lakeside/Sinclair/Blythe Road
- Melrose
- Moore Park
- Old Oak & Wormholt
- Olympia and Avonmore
- Parson's Green
- Putney Bridge
- Queen's Club Gardens
- Ravenscourt & Starch Green
- Sands End
- Sedlescombe Road
- Shepherds Bush
- St. Mary's
- St. Peter's Square
- Studdridge Street
- The Billings & Brompton Cutting
- The Mall
- Turneville/Chesson
- Walham Green
- Walham Grove
- Westcroft Square
- Wood Lane
…plus 3 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 Hammersmith and Fulham
Real · planning.data.gov.ukHammersmith and Fulham's Article 4 directions don't appear in the national planning.data.gov.uk geometry yet, but the borough operates significant ones: a borough-wide direction in force since April 2018 removing permitted development rights for basement excavation (so every basement needs planning permission), plus directions restricting office and storage to residential conversion and small HMOs. Check the council's Article 4 register for the definitive position.
Source: planning.data.gov.uk · Open Government Licence. Checked at address level by the area report.
What gets built in Hammersmith and Fulham
Outside the conservation areas many terraces keep PD rights; inside them, match the established depth and materials.
Costs & planning route →A staple on the Fulham and Brackenbury terraces; outside the conservation areas PD rights often apply.
Costs & planning route →Rear dormers approve on many terraces under PD; conservation-area rooflines need a full application.
Costs & planning route →A borough-wide Article 4 removes basement PD rights, so every basement needs full planning permission.
Costs & planning route →Rear-garden rooms proceed under PD on many houses; listed curtilage and flats are the exceptions.
Costs & planning route →Hammersmith and Fulham postcode by postcode
W6 runs from the Brook Green and Hammersmith Grove conservation areas to the riverside at Crabtree and Fulham Reach. Victorian and…
Area report →W12 centres on Shepherd's Bush, with the Wood Lane and Old Oak & Wormholt conservation areas and long terrace runs towards the Gol…
Area report →W14 covers the Olympia and Avonmore, Barons Court and Queen's Club Gardens conservation areas and a high share of mansion-block fl…
Area report →SW6 is prime Fulham terrace and mansion stock — the Hurlingham, Parson's Green, Walham Green, Moore Park and Sands End conservatio…
Area report →Hammersmith and Fulham planning, asked straight
Do I need planning permission for a basement in Hammersmith and Fulham?
Is my Hammersmith and Fulham home in a conservation area?
Can I extend a flat in Hammersmith and Fulham?
Do I need permission for a loft or rear extension here?
How do I check what applies at a Hammersmith and Fulham address?
Related reading
The biggest space gain in London — bought at the steepest price.
Read the guide →The designation nobody's heard of until it refuses their extension.
Read the guide →Your lease is a contract — and the council was never the only gatekeeper.
Read the guide →What applies at your address?
Borough-level rules only narrow it down. Enter a Hammersmith and Fulham 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.