Wandsworth

Local plan

Use the London Plan alongside Wandsworth’s Local Plan 2023–2038, adopted on 19 July 2023, and the Partial Review adopted on 4 March 2026, which replaces policies LP23, LP24 and LP28–LP31. [1][2][4][5]

Home projects need the current design and extension policies LP1/LP5, basement policy LP6 and the site’s mapped constraints. [7][8][9][13][16]

For applicable schemes delivering 1–9 dwellings gross, LP23 requires £50,000 per dwelling, subject to indexation, with an on-site affordable-housing alternative and an exceptional viability route. [4]

The council applies this small-site requirement to applications validated after 11.59pm on 28 July 2026—not simply applications received after that date. [6]

Householder design guide

The council still publishes its Housing SPD, adopted in November 2016, covering extensions, basements and roof alterations; read its design guidance alongside the newer Local Plan rather than treating its older policy references as current. [10][11][12]

It favours subordinate extensions that respect the building and neighbours, restrained dormers and particular care over roof shape in conservation areas. [12]

A January 2026 Planning Inspectorate decision applies current policies LP1/LP5 together with this SPD’s roof guidance, but that decision concerns its particular site and is not a borough-wide ban on a roof type. [13]

Validation list

Use the council’s July 2026 Local Validation Checklist and select requirements relevant to the proposal’s scale and location. [25][26]

Its fire-safety strategy requirement allows an explanation where particular matters do not apply to smaller works. [26]

Check separate structural, Construction Management Plan and Construction Method Statement triggers for basement and heritage proposals, rather than assuming the same documents are needed for every excavation. [22][26]

Applicable small-site housing schemes also need the affordable-housing submission; the council’s undertaking procedure starts with a draft for officer review, not immediate execution of an unchecked deed. [6][26]

Article 4 directions

The council lists conservation-related Article 4 directions for Dover House Estate, Heaver Estate, Latchmere Estate, Putney Lower Common, Roehampton Village, Shaftesbury Park Estate, Totterdown Fields Estate and Wandsworth Common, with controls varying by address and work. [27]

Its Class MA commercial-to-residential direction covers 60 modified areas rather than the whole borough or original 63-area proposal. [28][30][31]

Check the property against the current instrument, schedule and map: some conservation directions cover only particular terraces, and an area name alone does not establish coverage. [40][48]

Resolve conflicting Class MA commencement dates against the formal documents and obtain council confirmation before relying on address-level permitted-development rights. [28][29][30]

Conservation areas

Wandsworth lists 46 conservation areas; identify the property on the council’s boundary maps and read the appraisal for that particular area. [50][51]

The Historic Environment SPD explains how alterations and energy upgrades should respond to significant fabric, detailing and the building’s construction, rather than applying one replacement-window or insulation solution everywhere. [20][21]

Area guidance can be very specific—for example, Dover House’s appraisal emphasises coherent roof forms and materials within groups of houses—but older appraisal references to development-plan policies must be checked against the adopted plan now in force. [1][52][53]

Basement policy

Policy LP6, reproduced in the adopted Trees and Development SPD, limits basement accommodation to one storey below ground and residential excavation beneath gardens to 50% of existing rear or other undeveloped garden land, excluding the original building and other permanent structures’ footprints from that garden calculation. [16][17]

Front lightwells must retain at least 2m or 50% of the original front-garden depth, whichever is greater, in conservation areas, and at least 50% elsewhere. [16]

The policy also requires natural light and ventilation for habitable accommodation, at least 1m of naturally draining soil plus a 200mm drainage layer above garden basements, heritage compatibility, no increased flood risk and a positive pumped device or equivalent against sewer flooding. [16]

Check the separate construction-evidence requirements and flood assessment before designing an excavation; satisfying dimensions alone is insufficient. [22][23][26]

CIL rates

The published 2026 indexed residential borough CIL rates are £1,031.39/m² in Nine Elms Area A, £475.34/m² in Area B, £0 in the defined Roehampton charging area and £448.43/m² in the rest of the borough. [56]

Use the charging maps—not neighbourhood names—to locate the site, and assess chargeable floorspace and any relief separately. [54][55]

The separate 2026 Mayoral CIL2 residential rate for Wandsworth is £96.97/m²; neither this nor borough CIL is the same charge as the small-site affordable-housing contribution. [6][57]

Pre-application advice

The free duty-planner service provides general householder guidance, not a detailed assessment of whether a particular design will be accepted; contact planning@wandsworth.gov.uk for that general service. [58]

For paid scheme advice, contact wandsworthpre-applications@wandsworth.gov.uk. [58]

The VAT-inclusive tariff from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 charges £146 for written-only householder advice, £293 for a meeting only, or £439 for a meeting plus written advice, with a £293 supplement for listed or locally listed buildings. [59]

These householder prices cover alterations or extensions without new residential units; proposals creating homes use a different fee category. [59]

Building control

Contact council building control at buildingcontrol@wandsworth.gov.uk or 020 8871 8034, and use the current application page for submission routes. [61][62]

Under the tariff effective 1 April 2026, an extension up to 40m² has VAT-inclusive Full Plans charges of £441.60 for the plan check and £662.40 for inspection; wider structural openings and additional work can attract further charges, so confirm the project’s total rather than assuming this is an all-inclusive quote. [61]

The plan charge is paid with a Full Plans application and the inspection charge is invoiced after the first inspection; a Building Notice uses a different payment arrangement. [61][62]