Planning permission in Hammersmith and Fulham
Constraints: planning.data.gov.uk (ingested 2026-09-08) · Prices: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, January 2026 · 107 sales in January 2026 · Open Government Licence
Search Hammersmith and Fulham 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 Hammersmith and Fulham planning service →How to read planning applications →
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.
Key Hammersmith and Fulham planning figures
| Conservation areas | 48 |
| Article 4 directions | — |
| Householder applications granted | 98.6% (552 of 560) |
| London average grant rate | 85.6% |
| Rank for lowest grant rate | 32 of 33 |
| Average house price | £748,750 |
| Annual price change | -6.1% |
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 Hammersmith and Fulham
Outside the conservation areas many terraces keep PD rights; inside them, match the established depth and materials.
Rear extension in Hammersmith and Fulham →A staple on the Fulham and Brackenbury terraces; outside the conservation areas PD rights often apply.
Side return extension in Hammersmith and Fulham →Rear dormers approve on many terraces under PD; conservation-area rooflines need a full application.
Loft conversion in Hammersmith and Fulham →A borough-wide Article 4 removes basement PD rights, so every basement needs full planning permission.
Basement extension in Hammersmith and Fulham →Rear-garden rooms proceed under PD on many houses; listed curtilage and flats are the exceptions.
Garden room in Hammersmith and Fulham →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…
W6 planning report →W12 centres on Shepherd's Bush, with the Wood Lane and Old Oak & Wormholt conservation areas and long terrace runs towards the Gol…
W12 planning report →W14 covers the Olympia and Avonmore, Barons Court and Queen's Club Gardens conservation areas and a high share of mansion-block fl…
W14 planning report →SW6 is prime Fulham terrace and mansion stock — the Hurlingham, Parson's Green, Walham Green, Moore Park and Sands End conservatio…
SW6 planning 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.
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 Hammersmith and Fulham property
Constraint data tells you what applies. It does not draw a scheme, argue a case with Hammersmith and Fulham'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.