Lambeth

Local plan

Use the Lambeth Local Plan 2020–2035, adopted on 22 September 2021, alongside the London Plan 2021 and, where applicable, the South Bank and Waterloo and Kennington, Oval and Vauxhall neighbourhood plans. [1][4]

For home projects, key policies include Q2 on amenity, Q11 on alterations and extensions, Q22 on conservation areas, H6 on flat conversions and Q27 on basements. [3]

H6 protects family-suitable dwellings below 130 m², measured under its original-floor-area rules, from subdivision; larger homes are not automatically eligible for conversion. [3]

As at 3 October 2026, the separate Site Allocations DPD has been recommended for Council adoption on 14 October 2026, while the replacement Local Plan is at the scoping-consultation stage: neither process should be mistaken for an already adopted replacement to the 2021 borough-wide policies. [4][5][6]

Householder design guide

The council’s adopted-guidance index identifies the Lambeth Design Guide SPD as adopted on 8 August 2023; Part 4 covers building alterations, extensions, conversions and retrofit. [8][9]

Its extension guidance distinguishes infill, wraparound, full-width rear and side extensions, with design subordination, neighbouring amenity and heritage context assessed separately rather than through a single borough-wide extension allowance. [9]

The roof sections address dormers, rear mansards, hipped roofs and upward extensions, with additional constraints for heritage buildings and conservation areas. [9]

Apply the guidance to the actual building and surroundings: a 2 January 2025 appeal decision illustrates why design dimensions and the guide’s general resistance to rear mansards in conservation areas are not a universal statutory ban or an automatic permission for another property. [10]

Validation list

Start with Lambeth’s application-specific submission guidance and the local information list linked from its householder application page. [11][12]

The linked list is titled Local Information Requirements 2024. Obtain Lambeth's current checklist and confirm the requirements for your application type before commissioning reports or submitting. [11][31]

Agree whether a design and access statement, fire statement, biodiversity report or other specialist assessment is triggered by the particular application and site.

Article 4 directions

Check the council’s Article 4 register for the specific property and type of work, including separate conservation-area controls and commercial-to-residential directions. [13][34]

The targeted Class L(b) direction removes the C3-to-C4 small-HMO permitted development right throughout Streatham Common and Vale and Streatham St Leonard’s, effective 11 August 2025; this direction does not cover the whole borough. [14][15]

The council’s formal notice records confirmation on 6 August 2025, distinct from the earlier 24 July 2025 delegated decision report. [15][16]

For Class MA, consult the Secretary of State’s October 2022 modified boundaries for the Central Activities Zone, Key Industrial and Business Areas and specified town-centre locations, not an assumption that every property within the original broad areas is covered. [17][18][19][20][21][22]

Conservation areas

Use Lambeth’s individual conservation-area profiles and current boundary documents to check an address and locate its appraisal and management guidance. [23]

For example, the Loughborough Park CA27 profile lists a January 2024 boundary revision and a 2025 appraisal, illustrating why an older Local Plan appendix is not a substitute for the current area record. [24]

Heritage context matters to alterations and roofs: the Planning Inspectorate’s 2025 application of Lambeth’s design and conservation policies assessed the specific building, roofscape and conservation-area significance rather than treating every roof extension identically. [10]

Check Article 4 coverage separately, using the relevant direction and map rather than inferring its scope from conservation-area designation alone. [13][23]

Basement policy

Policy Q27, printed pages 223–226, expressly controls basement development: residential basement accommodation should not exceed one below-ground storey or be created beneath an existing basement or semi-basement. [3]

Full basement extensions beyond the house footprint are restricted to the rear and should generally leave at least 70% of the rear garden free of underground development at its original ground level. [3]

A professionally prepared Stage 1 screening Basement Impact Assessment is required, with further assessment and applicant-funded independent review where necessary; flood risk, stability, trees, heritage and neighbouring effects also require consideration. [3]

The council also lists Design Guide Part 5: Basements; its additional guidance must be checked alongside Q27. [8]

CIL rates

Lambeth’s charging schedule took effect on 1 January 2022 and distinguishes zones and development types; use the appropriate annual indexed rates, not the original schedule figures as a current quote. [26][27]

The council lists a 2026 annual summary. Obtain the borough-rate table and confirm the local charge and charging-zone boundary before budgeting. [27]

Separately, the GLA’s 2026 Mayoral CIL2 table gives Lambeth’s ordinary Band 2 rate as £72.73/m² for chargeable development, with different central-London office, retail and hotel rates and nil rates for health and education. [28]

That Mayoral figure is not Lambeth’s borough CIL rate or the combined CIL bill. [26][28]

Pre-application advice

Lambeth accepts paid pre-application advice requests online, with the relevant supporting information and fee for the selected service. [29]

For service and payment enquiries, use planning-preapp@lambeth.gov.uk and confirm the current 2026/27 tariff before paying. [29]

Pre-application advice is informal and does not guarantee that a subsequent planning application will be approved. [30]

Building control

Lambeth’s council contact listing gives buildingcontrol@lambeth.gov.uk and 020 7926 1150 for the Building Control team; request the current application route and project-specific charge. [31]

Building regulations approval is separate from planning permission, and ordinary work can use the council or a registered building control approver, while in-scope higher-risk building work goes to the Building Safety Regulator. [32]

For relevant residential building-control applications and initial notices from 1 October 2026, also check Building Safety Levy liability and exemptions: this is a separate charge, not simply the council’s inspection fee. [32][35]