Guildford Borough Council

Adopted Documents We Assess Against

Development plan: Guildford Local Plan: Strategy and Sites (2019) and Development Management Policies (2023)

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.

Guildford Borough Council standards at a glance

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

Side extension form

at least 1m

Guildford want a metre kept between a side extension and the shared boundary, and the extension no wider than half the original house - largely so a street of extensions does not end up looking like a terrace. Residential Extensions Guide section 3.1

Roof form

at least 1m

Keep the dormer at least 1m in from the side of the roof. Guildford Residential Extensions and Alterations Guide SPD (provisional citation)

Design character

up to 50%

A Guildford basement should not swallow more than half the garden or front courtyard, and anything of it visible above ground has to look subordinate to the house. Local Plan Development Management Policies paragraph 2.14 (provisional citation)

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

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

Guildford Local Plan: Development Management Policies (2023)

• Guildford Local Plan: Development Management Policies (design policies) — Design character (provisional citation) Guildford judge proposals against the design policies in their 2023 Development Management Policies plan - how well the proposal responds to the host building and its setting.
• Guildford Local Plan: Development Management Policies (residential amenity policies) — Amenity neighbouring (provisional citation) Guildford will look at the effect on your neighbours' light, outlook and privacy. Show the relationship to their windows on your drawings.
• Guildford Residential Extensions and Alterations Guide SPD — Roof form (provisional citation) Keep the dormer at least 1m in from the side of the roof.
• Local Plan Development Management Policies paragraph 2.14 — Design character (provisional citation) A Guildford basement should not swallow more than half the garden or front courtyard, and anything of it visible above ground has to look subordinate to the house.

Guildford Residential Extensions and Alterations Guide SPD

• Residential Extensions Guide section 3.1 — Side extension form Guildford want a metre kept between a side extension and the shared boundary, and the extension no wider than half the original house - largely so a street of extensions does not end up looking like a terrace.
• Residential Extensions Guide section 2.2 — Rear extension depth Guildford do not publish a maximum depth. They use the 45-degree line from your neighbour's window, and they say an extension crossing it is likely to be refused - so how deep you can go depends on where that window is.
• Residential Extensions Guide sections 3.3 and 3.4 — Roof form A Guildford dormer sits at least a metre off the party wall and chimney, and takes up no more than half the roof. A basement must not eat more than half your garden, and a balcony needs seven metres to the neighbour.