Local plan
Kingston’s adopted development plan includes the Core Strategy adopted in April 2012, the Kingston Town Centre Area Action Plan (2008), the South London Waste Plan (2022) and the London Plan (2021). [1][2]
For home projects, the Core Strategy’s CS8 and DM10 address character, scale, gardens and neighbours’ living conditions, DM11 addresses the design approach, DM12 covers heritage, and DM4 covers water management and flood risk; town-centre proposals also need the Area Action Plan. [2][39]
The replacement Local Plan 2028–2043 remains a proposal: its main consultation ran from July to September 2026, and the separate Habitats Regulations Assessment consultation closes at 11.59 pm on 9 November 2026. [3][4]
The council intends submission in December 2026, examination in 2027 and possible adoption in 2028; these are programme milestones, not evidence that the replacement policies already form the adopted plan. [3]
Council guidanceHouseholder design guide
Use Kingston’s Residential Design SPD, adopted in July 2013, which the council still lists as adopted guidance; the downloadable version records a November 2013 correction to its front-garden parking guidance. [5][6]
Chapter 4 covers rear, side and front extensions, roof alterations, outbuildings, basements and landscaping, with separate illustrated guidance rather than one extension allowance for every house. [6]
For example, Guidance 33 calls for a proportionate, subordinate rear extension and considers different neighbouring ground levels and rear building lines, while Guidance 39 addresses dormers’ relationship to the original roof. [6]
Use the retained local design guidance alongside current national and London policy, not as a current statutory permitted-development checklist: its introductory national-policy quotations and London Plan references date from earlier frameworks. [6][1][41]
Council guidanceValidation list
Kingston links separate general and householder validation checklists, adopted on 1 May 2024 and internally dated February 2024; select the list for the application type and the reports triggered by the proposal. [7][8][9]
The householder list requests a biodiversity checklist and fire-safety information, allowing a Reasonable Exception Statement where the applicant justifies why some or all of the relevant fire policy does not apply. [8]
Biodiversity Net Gain is a separate test: householder applications remain exempt, while from 6 August 2026 the exemption for sites of 0.2 hectares or less applies unless priority habitat is affected, and the standalone self-build exemption no longer applies to new applications. [11]
The 17 August 2026 NPPF’s DM2 requires additional local information to be supported by development-plan policy and proportionate to the proposal, so agree the necessary evidence with the council rather than commissioning every listed report for every project. [10][41]
Council guidanceArticle 4 directions
Check Kingston’s Article 4 register and the relevant instrument’s map: the listed directions control particular developments and sites, not every alteration throughout the borough. [12][13][16][18]
The Class MA commercial-to-residential direction was reduced on 14 June 2023 to 39 smaller areas, so use the Secretary of State’s modified plans rather than assuming that the original town-centre and employment-area boundaries still apply. [13][14]
At Seething Wells Filter Beds, the direction made on 23 October 2020 and confirmed with a modification on 14 April 2021 controls gates, fences, walls and other enclosures, but expressly allows repair, maintenance or replacement replicating the existing design, form, height and materials. [15][16]
The North Lodge and South Lodge direction took immediate effect on 29 August 2023 to remove specified demolition rights at the two mapped Kingsnympton Park sites, and the council records its confirmation decision on 8 February 2024. [17][18]
Council guidanceConservation areas
Kingston identifies 26 conservation areas and provides individual area pages, designation documents and map links; check the property’s actual boundary and relevant area record before settling an alteration or extension design. [19]
Core Strategy DM12 requires development to preserve or enhance heritage significance and addresses the effect of alterations on historic character, fabric, setting and important features, rather than treating conservation designation as a ban on all change. [2]
The council also identifies Conservation Area General Guidance adopted in June 2023, followed by engagement and minor modifications, as a material consideration in planning decisions. [19]
Fairfield/Knight’s Park and Surbiton Town Centre illustrate the separate area records: their pages identify local character, listed and locally listed buildings, designation documents and Article 4 information, which should be checked alongside the central directions register rather than substituted for it. [20][21][12]
Council guidanceBasement policy
Kingston has specific basement guidance in Residential Design SPD Guidance 43, page 94, to be read with the Core Strategy’s design, heritage and flood-risk policies. [6][2]
It requires natural light and ventilation for new sleeping accommodation, discreet visible features and protection of trees; its one-storey underground limit is stated for lightwells, not as a universal one-storey cap on every basement. [6]
The householder checklist requests a Basement Impact Assessment signed by a chartered civil or structural engineer for basement development, addressing stability, effects on neighbouring land and buildings, groundwater and other site risks, together with the relevant construction-method and construction-management information. [8]
Flooding and drainage require a site-specific check using the council’s flood-risk evidence and validation requirements, including surface-water risk as well as river flooding; neither an acceptable structural design nor a location outside the river floodplain settles every basement constraint. [2][8][32]
Council guidanceCIL rates
Kingston’s published 2026 indexed residential CIL rates are £323.07/m² in Zone 1, £200.00/m² in Zone 2, £130.76/m² in Zone 3 and £76.92/m² in Zone 4; use the council’s published table when checking the applicable rate and rounding. [22]
The separate GLA 2026 ordinary Mayoral CIL2 Band 2 rate is £72.73/m², so the borough figures are not combined local-and-Mayoral charges. [24][25]
Other uses have different classifications, including student and care accommodation, while the charging-schedule webpage distinguishes supermarket and retail-warehouse development from other retail and distinguishes other retail inside Kingston Town Centre’s Primary Shopping Area from the rest of the borough. [23]
Confirm the mapped zone, use category and project liability with the council before budgeting, including any applicable deductions or exemptions; a published square-metre rate is not by itself a calculation of what the project must pay. [23][25]
Council guidancePre-application advice
Kingston offers paid pre-application advice: prices displayed when checked on 3 October 2026, including VAT, are £174 for a remote meeting only or written advice only, or £300 for both, for ordinary alterations and extensions to a dwelling. [26]
For a listed dwelling, the corresponding prices are £360 for either service separately or £720 for both. [26]
For one to four dwellings, including conversions, the published prices are £1,500 for either service separately or £2,130 for both, so the householder tariff should not be used to price advice on creating a new dwelling. [26]
The advice is non-binding and based on the information, policies and legislation at the time; the council says advice is not valid for schemes submitted more than one year after its issue, and further meetings or substantial revisions can attract further charges. [27]
Council guidanceBuilding control
Contact Kingston Building Control at building.control@kingston.gov.uk, or write to Building Control, Guildhall 2, High Street, Kingston, KT1 1EU. [28]
The council’s application hub explains the full-plans, building-notice and regularisation routes, and its charges page provides standard-fee information and a route to request an individually assessed charge where appropriate. [29][31]
Book inspections online after the application has been formally registered and validated, using the application number, site details, inspection type and contact information; the council provides a Service Plan identifying inspection stages after review. [30]
Book in advance: the published urgent-booking cut-off is 1 pm on the working day before the visit, and although a morning or afternoon slot can be requested, appointments cannot be arranged for a specific time. [30]
Council guidance