Hammersmith & Fulham

Local plan

The borough plan identified in the cited planning decisions is the Hammersmith & Fulham Local Plan adopted in February 2018; those records identify housing policies HO4/HO11, heritage policy DC8 and basement/flood policies DC11/CC3, but do not replace a complete check of their current wording. [1][2][3]

The council's replacement-plan Regulation 18 consultation ran from 29 October to 10 December 2025. Check subsequent publication, examination and adoption records before treating an emerging replacement as adopted policy. [4]

For land within the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) boundary, OPDC is the planning authority and its Local Plan, adopted on 22 June 2022, superseded the relevant borough development-plan documents. [5][6]

Confirm the site’s planning authority, then read the complete current plan, policy maps and any later amendments. The policy references above are starting points for that assessment.

Householder design guide

A February 2018 Planning Guidance SPD is identified in the Secretary of State’s 2022 case papers, check the council’s current guidance index for any later amendments or replacement before using its design criteria. [1]

For an extension, roof alteration or conversion, obtain the current guide and relevant area-specific guidance before settling dormer sizes, rear-extension depths, separation distances or lightwell dimensions.

Conservation-area appraisals and any additional Article 4 controls need their own check, rather than assuming that general householder guidance settles the position for a historic property. [18]

Validation list

Obtain the current borough validation checklist from the council. MHCLG's Planning Data entry provides document links but carries an alternative-source quality warning; its metadata does not establish that a checklist has been formally reviewed for 2026. [7]

For applications within OPDC, the published July 2026 validation checklist is separate, although its introductory text still refers to the December 2025 draft NPPF and anticipates an update. [5][19]

The NPPF published on 17 August 2026 uses DM2 for information requirements: additional local assessments should have a development-plan policy basis and be proportionate to the proposal, rather than imposed equally on every application. [8][9]

Householder applications remain exempt from mandatory BNG; from 6 August 2026, new applications with a red-line site of 0.2 hectares or less are also exempt unless they impact on-site priority habitat, while the separate self-build exemption has been removed for new applications. [10]

Article 4 directions

Check Hammersmith & Fulham's operative Article 4 register, instruments and maps for basement excavation, HMOs or commercial conversions before assessing permitted-development rights.

Within OPDC, the confirmed Class E-to-C3 direction took effect on 1 August 2022 for its Strategic Industrial Location; the instrument withdraws the relevant Class MA right rather than every permitted-development right. [11][12]

OPDC separately records C3-to-C4 restrictions effective from 1 December 2023 in specified residential areas, not throughout either OPDC or Hammersmith & Fulham. [11][13]

A 5 January 2026 appeal accepted the Class MA route for Waterford House, but that address-specific decision is not evidence that the same right is available at every commercial property in the borough. [3]

Conservation areas

Check the council’s designated conservation-area boundary, character appraisal and any property-specific Article 4 direction before relying on normal householder permissions; Historic England explains that these controls are tailored to the area. [18]

A 5 January 2026 appeal places Waterford House within the Moore Park Conservation Area, providing a dated local example rather than a complete borough register. [3]

The Secretary of State’s 2022 case papers identify DC8 as the borough’s heritage policy, with attention to heritage significance, setting, scale and materials. [1]

Use the council’s current directory, designation notices and boundary maps for an address-specific check. The appeal example above does not establish the controls at another property.

Basement policy

Basement proposals are assessed under Local Plan DC11 and CC3; the cited appeal illustrates their application to a proposed basement dwelling. [2]

In the 27 February 2024 Fitzgeorge Avenue decision, poor light and outlook and unresolved flood-safety evidence weighed against the proposed flat; the Inspector did not accept postponing the flood-risk issue to a further assessment by condition. [2]

This illustrates why a basement design needs to address living conditions and flood evidence, but it does not establish a universal ban on basements or make that historic decision’s national-policy references current.

Read the complete adopted basement policy, any excavation Article 4 instrument and current assessment or independent-review requirements before deciding storeys, depth, garden coverage or lightwell dimensions.

CIL rates

For ordinary MCIL2-liable planning permissions granted in 2026, the GLA’s indexed Mayoral rate for Hammersmith & Fulham is £96.97/m², compared with its £80/m² base rate from 1 April 2019; health/education and specified central-London uses have separate treatment. [14]

The GLA’s separate OPDC Band 2 rate is £72.73/m² for 2026, so the borough’s Band 1 figure must not automatically be carried across the development-corporation boundary. [14]

These are Mayoral rates only. Obtain the current local charging schedule, zone map, indexed rates and applicable reliefs separately; the local component must not be assumed to be zero.

MHCLG's July 2026 consultation proposes temporary relief from borough-level CIL in London. Check the final implementing rules, eligibility and commencement before deducting any proposed discount. [15]

Pre-application advice

Obtain Hammersmith & Fulham's current pre-application tariff, VAT treatment, service scope and expected response period before booking.

Planning Portal advises applicants to describe the proposal, provide plans and use pre-application discussions to clarify policy, submission requirements and site problems such as flooding or access; it also warns that councils may charge. [16]

For a site inside OPDC, use its separate pre-application service, whose published guidance says the charge depends on the proposal’s scale and nature. [5]

Before paying, confirm which authority should advise, what written or meeting-based service is included, and which specialist inputs or follow-up requests are charged separately.

Building control

Use the linked borough building-control contact page for current telephone, email, inspection-booking arrangements and charges rather than relying on historic contact details.

Building regulations approval is separate from planning permission; for work outside the higher-risk regime, the approval route may be through the local authority or a registered building control approver. [17]

Work falling within the higher-risk building-control regime is generally dealt with by the Building Safety Regulator, subject to the specified exceptions. [17]

From 1 October 2026, some residential building-control applications and initial notices may also attract the Building Safety Levy; this is not a statement that every domestic alteration is liable. [17]