London Borough of Brent

Adopted Documents We Assess Against

Development plan: Brent Local Plan 2019-2041 (adopted 14 February 2022)

Documents are re-checked against the council's own website weekly. A detected change flags "Policy Update Available" for human review — live assessment standards are never replaced automatically.

London Borough of Brent standards at a glance

9 numeric standards taken from London Borough of Brent's own adopted documents, each shown with the paragraph it comes from. Figures differ between councils — these are this one's.

Rear extension depth

up to 6m

Brent's 2025 guidance is generous - up to 6 metres deep for a terrace or semi - but never more than half your garden, and the garden you keep must still be big enough. Brent SPD paragraph 3.1.2

up to 8m

A detached house in Brent can extend up to 8 metres to the rear at single storey - if the garden is deep enough to give half of it up. Brent SPD paragraph 3.1.3

up to 4m

Brent allows a rear extension up to 4 metres tall with a pitched roof, but the eaves along the neighbour's fence must stay low - 2.5 to 3 metres. Brent SPD paragraphs 3.1.5-3.1.8

Two storey rear

up to 3m

A two-storey rear extension on a Brent terrace or semi is limited to 3 metres deep and must pass the 45-degree test from the neighbours' windows. Brent SPD paragraph 3.2.3

up to 4m

A detached house in Brent can take a two-storey rear extension up to 4 metres deep, subject to the 45-degree neighbour test. Brent SPD paragraph 3.2.4

Town centre

up to 1

Proposing more than one new takeaway in a Brent shopping frontage is very likely to be refused. A real scheme on Harrow Road was refused for exactly this, and only approved once the takeaways were taken out. Brent Local Plan Policy BE5 (provisional citation)

Amenity space

at least 50m²

A new ground-floor family home in Brent should normally have 50m² of private outdoor space, and 20m² for anything smaller. Meeting the area is not enough on its own - the space has to be reachable directly from the home, not round the side through a gate. Brent Local Plan Policy BH13 (provisional citation)

Highways access

at least 50%

At least half of a Brent front garden should stay planted or grassed. Squeezing in a second parking space is usually what pushes it under, and the two are judged together - so if the frontage is short on planting, the parking layout is normally what has to give. Brent Local Plan Policy BT2 (provisional citation)

Roof alterations

at least 0.2m

Brent only ask for 0.2 metres between the original eaves and the bottom of the dormer, which is generous. Side dormer windows also have to be obscure glazed to 1.7 metres above the floor. Residential Extensions SPD paragraphs 3.6.5 and 3.6.8

Standards are what the council normally expects, not a guarantee. A scheme outside them can still be approved on its merits, and one inside them can still be refused for another reason.

Authored Policy Library

16 local policy checks, each citation-locked to the adopted document. National policy (NPPF, national space and daylight standards) applies alongside these.

Residential Extensions & Alterations SPD

• Brent SPD paragraph 3.1.2 — Rear extension depth Brent's 2025 guidance is generous - up to 6 metres deep for a terrace or semi - but never more than half your garden, and the garden you keep must still be big enough.
• Brent SPD paragraph 3.1.3 — Rear extension depth A detached house in Brent can extend up to 8 metres to the rear at single storey - if the garden is deep enough to give half of it up.
• Brent SPD paragraph 3.1.4 — Amenity space However deep Brent's allowances go, your extension can never take more than half the garden.
• Brent SPD paragraphs 3.1.5-3.1.8 — Rear extension depth Brent allows a rear extension up to 4 metres tall with a pitched roof, but the eaves along the neighbour's fence must stay low - 2.5 to 3 metres.
• Brent SPD paragraph 3.2.3 — Two storey rear A two-storey rear extension on a Brent terrace or semi is limited to 3 metres deep and must pass the 45-degree test from the neighbours' windows.
• Brent SPD paragraph 3.2.4 — Two storey rear A detached house in Brent can take a two-storey rear extension up to 4 metres deep, subject to the 45-degree neighbour test.
• Brent SPD paragraph 3.2.5 — Amenity neighbouring Draw a 45-degree line from the middle of your neighbour's nearest habitable window - your two-storey extension must stay behind it in Brent.
• Brent SPD paragraph 3.2.6 — Two storey rear A two-storey rear extension in Brent must stay below your existing roof ridge, with matching eaves.
• Residential Extensions SPD paragraphs 3.6.5 and 3.6.8 — Roof alterations Brent only ask for 0.2 metres between the original eaves and the bottom of the dormer, which is generous. Side dormer windows also have to be obscure glazed to 1.7 metres above the floor.

Brent Local Plan 2019-2041

• Brent Local Plan Policy BE4 — Town centre (provisional citation) Brent limits how many units in a shopping parade can be something other than a shop. If your site is in a designated frontage, check how many are already non-retail before you commit to the scheme.
• Brent Local Plan Policy BE5 — Town centre (provisional citation) Proposing more than one new takeaway in a Brent shopping frontage is very likely to be refused. A real scheme on Harrow Road was refused for exactly this, and only approved once the takeaways were taken out.
• Brent Local Plan Policy BH11 — Residential quality (provisional citation) Splitting a 3-bed-or-larger house into flats in Brent is only allowed if the house is at least 130m², one of the new homes is still a genuine 3-bed, and the area has decent public transport. Watch criterion (b): Brent counts bedrooms that meet the size standard, so three undersized bedrooms will not be accepted as a family home.
• Brent Local Plan Policy BH13 — Amenity space (provisional citation) A new ground-floor family home in Brent should normally have 50m² of private outdoor space, and 20m² for anything smaller. Meeting the area is not enough on its own - the space has to be reachable directly from the home, not round the side through a gate.
• Brent Local Plan Policy BT2 — Highways access (provisional citation) At least half of a Brent front garden should stay planted or grassed. Squeezing in a second parking space is usually what pushes it under, and the two are judged together - so if the frontage is short on planting, the parking layout is normally what has to give.
• Brent Local Plan Policy DMP1 — Town centre (provisional citation) Brent will refuse an application it cannot assess. Show your site boundary clearly, and show how the units are serviced, where the bins go, and how extraction and ventilation work - before you submit, not after they ask. Note ArchLens holds only this part of DMP1: it is a general policy and can be cited against a house extension or conversion for reasons that are not covered here.
• Brent Local Plan Policy BT3 — Town centre (provisional citation) Show how deliveries and bin collections actually work on your site. "It will be managed" is not an answer a case officer can assess.