Planning permission in Kingston upon Thames
Constraints: planning.data.gov.uk (ingested 2026-06-15) · Prices: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, October 2025 · 173 sales in October 2025 · Open Government Licence
Planning in Kingston upon Thames — the detail
Kingston upon Thames — one of only four royal boroughs in England — runs from the Thames at Kingston and Surbiton up to the wooded Coombe estate on the Wimbledon Common fringe. Its 27 conservation areas include Kingston Old Town, Riverside South, Grove Crescent and Fairfield and Knights Park near the centre, the Surbiton Town Centre and Surbiton Hill Park areas, and the exclusive Coombe Hill, Coombe Wood and Coombe House areas, where large detached houses in mature grounds attract some of the borough's most prominent extension and replacement-dwelling schemes.
Kingston's Article 4 directions are, for the most part, not householder restrictions: they protect the borough's town centres and key employment areas — chiefly by removing the permitted development right to convert offices and commercial premises to residential — so what narrows a homeowner's options is conservation-area designation and, in the older stock, listed status. The council's Residential Design SPD sets the design expectations for householder extensions, and a Riverside Public Realm SPD guides work along the Thames frontage.
Outside the conservation areas, Kingston's Victorian, Edwardian and interwar stock in Surbiton, New Malden and Old Malden supports the usual rear extensions, side returns and loft conversions, much of it under permitted development. With the conservation areas concentrated around the town centres, the riverside and Coombe, the address-level check is what tells you whether a project is a prior-approval formality or a full application.
Policy detail lives in the Kingston upon Thames local plan and applications are submitted via the Kingston upon Thames planning portal.
Conservation areas in Kingston upon Thames
Real · planning.data.gov.ukEvery designated conservation area in Kingston upon Thames from the official dataset — inside one, permitted development narrows and design scrutiny rises.
- Cadogan Road
- Christ Church
- Claremont Road
- Coombe Hill
- Coombe House
- Coombe Wood
- Fairfield and Knights Park
- Fishponds Park
- Grove Crescent
- Kingston Hill
- Kingston Old Town
- Kingston Vale
- Liverpool Road
- Oak Hill
- Old Malden
- Park Road
- Presburg Road
- Richmond Road
- Riverside South
- Southborough
- St Andrew's Square
- Surbiton Hill Park
- Surbiton Town Centre
- The Groves
- Victoria Avenue
…plus 2 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 Kingston upon Thames
Real · planning.data.gov.ukKingston's Article 4 directions, recorded on the council's own register rather than the national planning.data.gov.uk dataset, mostly protect the borough's town centres and key employment areas — chiefly removing the permitted development right to convert offices and commercial premises to homes — rather than restricting householder extensions. For homeowners, conservation-area designation and listed status are what narrow extension rights; check the area report for what applies at a specific address.
Source: planning.data.gov.uk · Open Government Licence. Checked at address level by the area report.
What gets built in Kingston upon Thames
Surbiton, New Malden and Old Malden terraces extend under PD; the town-centre, riverside and Coombe conservation areas need a full application.
Costs & planning route →Common on Surbiton's Victorian terraces; conservation designation is the main control on the shared flank and roofline.
Costs & planning route →Routine on the Surbiton, New Malden and Worcester Park stock under PD; conservation areas require a full application and careful dormers.
Costs & planning route →A full application with structural and flood-risk evidence is the norm, especially near the Thames and on the Coombe slopes.
Costs & planning route →Suits the larger gardens of Surbiton, New Malden and Coombe under PD; conservation-area designation and height and incidental-use limits are the constraints.
Costs & planning route →Kingston upon Thames postcode by postcode
KT1 is the royal borough's core — Kingston Old Town, Riverside South, Grove Crescent and the Fairfield and Knights Park conservati…
Area report →KT2 climbs to Kingston Hill and the exclusive Coombe estate — the Coombe Hill, Coombe Wood and Coombe House conservation areas, la…
Area report →KT6 is Surbiton — the Surbiton Town Centre, Surbiton Hill Park, Southborough and The Groves conservation areas, with their Italian…
Area report →KT3 is New Malden — largely interwar suburban stock on generous plots with side access, where rear extensions, side extensions and…
Area report →KT4 covers Worcester Park and Old Malden, including the Old Malden conservation area around the ancient parish church. The suburba…
Area report →Kingston upon Thames planning, asked straight
Do Kingston's Article 4 directions affect my house extension?
Is my Kingston home in a conservation area?
Do I need planning permission for a rear extension or loft in Surbiton or New Malden?
What extra control applies near the river or on Coombe?
How do I check constraints for a Kingston address?
Related reading
Designated land edits the rulebook — here's the exact redline.
Read the guide →Almost every London extension, loft and basement engages this Act. Here's how it actually works.
Read the guide →Four roof forms, four budgets — and one big conservation premium.
Read the guide →What applies at your address?
Borough-level rules only narrow it down. Enter a Kingston upon Thames postcode for the live constraint check — conservation area, Article 4 and sold-price comparables, cited to source.
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