Planning permission in Lewisham
Constraints: planning.data.gov.uk (ingested 2026-06-15) · Prices: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, October 2025 · 252 sales in October 2025 · Open Government Licence
Planning in Lewisham — the detail
Lewisham runs from the Georgian and Victorian heights of Blackheath and Telegraph Hill, through Brockley, Ladywell, Forest Hill and Sydenham, down to the maritime stock of Deptford and the riverside. Its 30 conservation areas — Blackheath, Brockley (one of London's largest Victorian conservation areas), Telegraph Hill, Deptford High Street and St Paul's, Ladywell, Lee Manor, Forest Hill and Jews Walk among them — carry close design control on rooflines, materials and frontages.
Lewisham has two distinct Article 4 layers. The first is its HMO regime: two borough-wide Article 4 directions remove the permitted development right to convert a house (use class C3) to a small HMO (C4) — the southern wards since 7 March 2020 and the rest of the borough since 19 January 2024 — so an HMO conversion anywhere in Lewisham now needs planning permission. The second is conservation-area control: Article 4 directions in areas such as Brockley, Brookmill Road, Deptford High Street and Forest Hill remove householder permitted development, so visible external changes — windows, doors, roofs — need consent. The borough's Alterations and Extensions SPD (2019) sets the design rules.
Outside the Article 4 areas, much of Lewisham's Victorian and Edwardian terrace stock keeps permitted development rights for rear extensions, side returns and loft conversions, with a deep precedent base. The address-level check is decisive — the HMO direction is borough-wide, but householder extension rights turn on whether a conservation-area Article 4 applies.
Policy detail lives in the Lewisham local plan and applications are submitted via the Lewisham planning portal.
Conservation areas in Lewisham
Real · planning.data.gov.ukEvery designated conservation area in Lewisham from the official dataset — inside one, permitted development narrows and design scrutiny rises.
- Beckenham Place
- Belmont
- Blackheath
- Brockley
- Brookmill Road
- Cobbs Corner
- Culverley Green
- Deptford Creekside
- Deptford High Street & St Pauls Church
- Deptford Town Hall
- Forest Hill
- Halifax
- Hatcham
- Jews Walk
- Ladywell
- Lee Manor
- Lewisham Park
- Mercia Grove
- Perry Vale and Christmas Estate
- Perryfields
- Somerset Gardens
- St Johns
- St Marys
- St Stephens
- Stanstead Grove
- Sydenham Park
- Sydenham Thorpes
- Sydnenham Hill
- Telegraph Hill
…plus 1 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 Lewisham
Real · planning.data.gov.ukLewisham's Article 4 directions, recorded as around 89 named parcels in the national dataset, fall into two main groups for homeowners: a borough-wide HMO regime (two directions removing the right to convert a house to a small HMO — the southern wards since March 2020, the rest of the borough since January 2024) and conservation-area directions in areas such as Brockley, Brookmill Road, Deptford High Street and Forest Hill that remove householder permitted development. Others cover town centres and employment land. The Alterations and Extensions SPD sets householder design expectations. Use the area report, or the council's Article 4 pages, for the direction that applies at a given address.
Source: planning.data.gov.uk · Open Government Licence · 89 directions recorded. Checked at address level by the area report.
What gets built in Lewisham
Brockley, Ladywell and Forest Hill terraces are deep PD-precedent territory; the Article 4 conservation areas need a full application.
Costs & planning route →Deep precedent on the Brockley, Ladywell and Forest Hill terraces; the Article 4 conservation areas need a full application.
Costs & planning route →A staple on the Victorian stock of Brockley, Forest Hill and Sydenham; the Article 4 conservation areas decide dormer form via a full application.
Costs & planning route →A full application with structural and ground-condition evidence is the norm, with the Alterations and Extensions SPD and conservation-area scrutiny applying.
Costs & planning route →Workable under PD on many plots; the Brockley, Forest Hill and Deptford Article 4 areas can remove outbuilding rights — check the address.
Costs & planning route →Lewisham postcode by postcode
SE4 is the Brockley conservation area — one of London's largest Victorian conservation areas, with an Article 4 direction removing…
Area report →SE13 covers central Lewisham and the Ladywell, Lewisham Park and Lee Manor conservation areas. Much of the Victorian and Edwardian…
Area report →SE23 is Forest Hill — the Forest Hill conservation area (with Article 4 directions) and Jews Walk, near the Horniman. Hillside Vic…
Area report →SE8 is Deptford — the Deptford High Street and St Paul's and Brookmill Road conservation areas, both with Article 4 directions, pl…
Area report →SE14 covers New Cross and the Telegraph Hill and Hatcham conservation areas — steep Victorian streets above the Thames basin. Insi…
Area report →Lewisham planning, asked straight
Do I need planning permission to create an HMO in Lewisham?
Which Lewisham conservation areas have Article 4 directions?
Is my Lewisham home in a conservation area?
Do I need planning permission for a rear extension or loft in Lewisham?
How do I check constraints for a Lewisham address?
Related reading
The designation nobody's heard of until it refuses their extension.
Read the guide →Designated land edits the rulebook — here's the exact redline.
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 Lewisham postcode for the live constraint check — conservation area, Article 4 and sold-price comparables, cited to source.
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