London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham

Adopted Documents We Assess Against

Development plan: Hammersmith & Fulham Local Plan

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 Hammersmith & Fulham standards at a glance

5 numeric standards taken from London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham'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 3.5m

In Hammersmith & Fulham the guideline for how far a rear extension can project is 3.5 metres from the original back wall - and if the house has already been extended before, that new depth is added to the old one when checking against the limit. Planning Guidance SPD Key Principle HS4(i)

Amenity neighbouring

at least 4

The council will not normally permit an extension within 4m of the rear boundary. Planning Guidance SPD Key Principle HS4

up to 50

The council will not normally permit more than 50% of the original rear open area to be built on, counting existing extensions. Planning Guidance SPD Key Principle HS4

at least 18m

A new window in Hammersmith & Fulham should generally be at least 18 metres from an existing neighbour's window - closer than that and it will usually need to be obscure-glazed or otherwise designed to avoid overlooking. Planning Guidance SPD Key Principle HS7(iii)

Side extension form

up to 2m

A side extension against the boundary in Hammersmith & Fulham should be no higher than 2 metres there (measured from next door's ground level), with a roof pitch no steeper than 45 degrees. Planning Guidance SPD Key Principle HS7(ii)

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

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

Planning Guidance Supplementary Planning Document

• Planning Guidance SPD Key Principle HS4(i) — Rear extension depth In Hammersmith & Fulham the guideline for how far a rear extension can project is 3.5 metres from the original back wall - and if the house has already been extended before, that new depth is added to the old one when checking against the limit.
• Planning Guidance SPD Key Principle HS4(ii)-(iii) — Amenity neighbouring The council will not normally allow a rear extension that comes within 4 metres of your rear boundary, or that (added to any earlier extension) covers more than half of the garden as it was when the house was originally built.
• Planning Guidance SPD Key Principle HS4 — Amenity neighbouring (2 checks) The council will not normally permit an extension within 4m of the rear boundary. The council will not normally permit more than 50% of the original rear open area to be built on, counting existing extensions.
• Planning Guidance SPD Key Principle HS7(ii) — Side extension form A side extension against the boundary in Hammersmith & Fulham should be no higher than 2 metres there (measured from next door's ground level), with a roof pitch no steeper than 45 degrees.
• Planning Guidance SPD Key Principle HS7(i) — Amenity neighbouring (2 checks) Hammersmith & Fulham checks rear extensions against a 45-degree sightline from the neighbour's windows and garden, so their outlook and light are not unreasonably blocked. Where nothing has been built out the back before, Hammersmith and Fulham want a clear 45-degree angle to your neighbour's window. If there is already a rear addition they judge it differently.
• Planning Guidance SPD Key Principle HS7(iii) — Amenity neighbouring A new window in Hammersmith & Fulham should generally be at least 18 metres from an existing neighbour's window - closer than that and it will usually need to be obscure-glazed or otherwise designed to avoid overlooking.
• Planning Guidance SPD Key Principle HS8 — Amenity neighbouring Roof terraces and balconies are treated cautiously in Hammersmith & Fulham because of overlooking and noise to neighbours - the council may also want to see them kept to no more than about 15 square metres.