This page covers the western part of the borough — Dalston, De Beauvoir Town, Kingsland and Newington Green fringe and the streets around them. The stock here is largely Victorian terraces and the grid of De Beauvoir villas, and we prepare drawings across every one of those types for Hackney Council.
The De Beauvoir conservation area protects the western villa grid, so extensions and roof changes there are held to a high design standard and usually need full planning rather than Permitted Development. Whichever route your address falls under, we confirm it free at the measured survey and design to match the western Hackney streetscape — from period rear and side-return extensions to rear-dormer and mansard loft conversions.


Every application in West Hackney is decided by Hackney Council. Householder applications carry a statutory 8-week determination; allow around 12–14 weeks from first call to decision once the measured survey, design and validation are included. We hold a 98% first-time approval rate across Hackney.
Article 4 Direction: Article 4 Direction covers HMO conversions borough-wide and office-to-residential in specific commercial zones.

Every Hackney postcode district we draw in, the stock that dominates it and the authority that validates a drawing package there. Hackney fees below are the statutory England rates for 2026, not drawing package estimates.
| Postcode | Area | Dominant stock | What it means for a drawing package |
|---|---|---|---|
| N16 | Stoke Newington / Stamford Hill | Georgian and Victorian terraces | N16 straddles a boundary: Stoke Newington / Stamford Hill addresses fall to Hackney Council or Islington Council, so confirm which authority validates the drawing package before submitting N16 drawings. |
| E5 | Clapton | Victorian terraces, mansion blocks | E5 covers Clapton only; Hackney Council handles the drawing package. |
| E8 | Hackney Central / Dalston / London Fields | Victorian terraces, post-war flats | A drawing package at an E8 address in Hackney Central / Dalston / London Fields is determined by Hackney Council under its own Local Plan policies for Hackney Central / Dalston / London Fields. |
| E9 | Homerton / Hackney Wick | Victorian terraces, post-war estates | E9 covers Homerton / Hackney Wick only; Hackney Council handles the drawing package. |
| EC2A | Shoreditch | Warehouse conversions, modern infill | A drawing package in Shoreditch may land with Hackney Council or City of London Corporation — EC2A crosses the boundary, and the EC2A policies map decides it street by street. |
| N1 | Islington / Hoxton | Georgian and early Victorian terraces | A drawing package in Islington / Hoxton may land with Islington Council or Hackney Council — N1 crosses the boundary, and the N1 policies map decides it street by street. |
| N4 | Finsbury Park / Stroud Green | Victorian terraces, post-war estates | Finsbury Park / Stroud Green is split at N4. Either Haringey Council or Islington Council or Hackney Council can determine a drawing package here, so the N4 address is checked against both policies maps first. |
| E2 | Bethnal Green | Warehouse conversions, modern infill | A drawing package in Bethnal Green may land with Tower Hamlets Council or Hackney Council — E2 crosses the boundary, and the E2 policies map decides it street by street. |
Roof pitch, wall build-up and plot depth change every few Hackney streets, and each one changes what a drawing package can achieve at that address.
Hackney conservation designations: there are 29 across Hackney Council, Clapton, De Beauvoir Town, Stoke Newington among them. Designation costs a Hackney owner the permitted-development route: a drawing package then needs a £548 householder application over 8 weeks, in place of the £249 prior approval route that takes 6 weeks. De Beauvoir Town is the Hackney designation that most often changes a drawing package design.
What Article 4 removes near Hackney: Article 4 Direction covers HMO conversions borough-wide and office-to-residential in specific commercial zones. Before pricing a drawing package we check whether the N16 address is inside the mapped area, because Hackney Council draws the Hackney boundary street by street rather than across the whole of Hackney.
Hackney housing stock: Victorian terraces dominate; large post-war estates around Hackney Wick; Georgian fragments in De Beauvoir and Stoke Newington; new-build around the Olympic Park. Young demographic; high design-quality bar in planning; mansards routinely approved in rear-of-terrace positions within conservation areas following the Hackney design guide. Read that before choosing a drawing package route in Hackney — construction, not postcode, sets what is achievable. Hackney Council charges £548 for a householder application and has 8 weeks to determine it.
Sources for this Hackney drawing package page: borough policies maps and conservation-area registers (2025–26), Royal Mail postcode district boundaries, the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications) (England) Regulations, the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 as amended, and the Party Wall etc. Act 1996.
Direct answers to what homeowners in western Hackney ask about drawings, permission and fees.
It depends on your exact address. Many single-storey rear and side-return extensions on unlisted houses in West Hackney fall under Permitted Development, but The De Beauvoir conservation area protects the western villa grid, so extensions and roof changes there are held to a high design standard and usually need full planning rather than Permitted Development. Flats, listed buildings and conservation areas always need full planning, decided by Hackney Council. Article 4 in the borough: Yes — check your address. We confirm exactly which route applies to your property, free, at the survey.
The western half of Hackney — around Dalston, De Beauvoir Town, Kingsland and Newington Green fringe — is characterised by Victorian terraces and the grid of De Beauvoir villas. We prepare planning and building-regulations drawings for every period represented here, designed to match the local streetscape and satisfy Hackney Council.
Hackney Council determines householder applications in 8 weeks; allow roughly 12–14 weeks end to end (survey, design, validation and determination). We hold a 98% first-time approval rate across Hackney.
Householders often approach us after a neighbour used a different council. Our full range is set out for North Hackney and All of Hackney.
Pick a slot that suits you. No obligation and no sales pressure, just straight answers on your planning route.

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