Building Regulations Drawings · SE23 Forest Hill
SE23 is decided by Lewisham Council. Forest Hill and Honor Oak are hilly, leafy Victorian/Edwardian suburbs with strong loft and rear-extension demand; conservation areas cover the better villa streets near the Horniman and London Road, while the bulk of the terraced and semi stock keeps permitted-development rights.
If your property sits elsewhere in the borough, the borough-wide page for building regulations drawings in Lewisham covers the same service across every ward.
Building regulations drawings for a Forest Hill project turn the design into a construction-ready set — Part A structure, Part B fire, Part L thermal, Part M access — for Lewisham Council Building Control or an approved inspector. On SE23's victorian and edwardian terraces and villas across, the recurring details are steel beams over knocked-through ground floors, loft floor build-ups, and insulation upgrades to solid period walls around Forest Hill, Honor Oak, Perry Vale, Horniman.
A construction-ready drawing package compliant with every Approved Document — Part A structure, Part B fire, Part L thermal, Part M accessibility — submitted to LABC or your approved inspector with structural calculations coordinated.
Across Forest Hill, Honor Oak, Perry Vale, Horniman in SE23, the dominant property is victorian and edwardian terraces and villas across forest hill and honor oak, larger detached houses on the hills, and 1930s semis towards perry vale. That stock shapes what building regulations drawings looks like here: the right approach for a period terrace differs from a mansion-block flat or a new-build, and Lewisham Council judges each on design quality and neighbour impact. We survey the specific Forest Hill property, confirm the planning route — Permitted Development, a Lawful Development Certificate, or full planning — and draw a council-ready set tailored to the SE23 streetscape.
Housing stock in SE23: Victorian and Edwardian terraces and villas across Forest Hill and Honor Oak, larger detached houses on the hills, and 1930s semis towards Perry Vale.
Within the district: Forest Hill, Honor Oak, Perry Vale, Horniman.
Conservation areas: Forest Hill, Honor Oak, Horniman / London Road. Inside these, most external work needs full planning and a Heritage Statement.
Getting around SE23: Forest Hill and Honor Oak Park (Overground and Southern).
Property values: approx £600k–£1.2m for houses, £375k–£600k for flats (Land Registry, 2024) — a useful gauge of the build value an extension or loft adds in SE23.
Borough character: Generally permissive planning compared to central boroughs; loft conversions and side-return extensions routinely approved under PD.
Plans, sections and elevations at 1:50 with full annotation and material specification.
U-values for walls, roof, floor and glazing; SAP or SBEM where required; compliance statement.
Chartered engineer sign-off on beams, pad foundations, lintels, roof structure.
Escape routes, compartmentation, smoke alarms, fire-rated construction detail.
Soil and vent pipe routes, MVHR coordination, EV charging (Part S).
Full Plans submission to Lewisham Council Building Control or an approved inspector with inspections coordinated through to completion certificate.
Single planning or building-regs submission.
Planning + building regs + structural.
Listed, conservation or complex sites.
Most do. The Victorian and Edwardian terraces and semis across Forest Hill and Honor Oak in SE23 generally keep permitted-development rights for single-storey rear extensions and rear dormer lofts, decided by Lewisham Council, provided they're outside the local conservation areas. The hilly plots sometimes raise overlooking and retaining-wall issues we design around. We check your address against Lewisham's conservation layer first.
Parts are. Lewisham designates conservation areas in Forest Hill and Honor Oak, typically covering the grander villa streets near the Horniman Museum and London Road, while most of the terraced and 1930s semi stock sits outside. Inside a conservation area, loft dormers and external alterations need full planning and a Heritage Statement. We map your specific Forest Hill or Honor Oak street before relying on PD.
Forest Hill and Honor Oak SE23 have a lot of larger Victorian and Edwardian semi-detached and detached villas, which often take a hip-to-gable plus rear dormer for a full extra floor, or a substantial rear dormer on terraces. The sloping sites mean we pay attention to ridge heights and neighbour overlooking. We design to the roof type and confirm whether full planning or a Lawful Development Certificate applies.
With Forest Hill property at approx £600k–£1.2m for houses, £375k–£600k for flats (Land Registry, 2024), the professional drawing fee is a small fraction of the value the work adds to SE23's victorian and edwardian terraces and villas across. Lewisham Council charges its own statutory application fee on top (currently £548 for a householder planning application, £610 for a full application). We quote the drawings as one fixed price and the free site survey covers every SE23 address.
For a SE23 project across Forest Hill, Honor Oak, Perry Vale, Horniman, expect roughly 3–4 weeks from instruction to submission: week 1 the measured survey, weeks 2–3 the drawings and your revisions, then validation and the statutory determination by Lewisham Council (8 weeks for a householder application). We carry the Forest Hill application through every officer query to the decision.
Forest Hill (SE23) sits primarily in Lewisham, so applications are decided by Lewisham Council. Conservation areas within SE23 include Forest Hill, Honor Oak, Horniman / London Road, where full planning and a Heritage Statement are required. We confirm the planning route for your exact address before quoting.
Almost always. Any structural work behind building regulations drawings in Forest Hill — new openings, steel beams, loft floors, foundations — needs Building Regulations approval covering structure (Part A), fire escape (Part B) and insulation (Part L), submitted to Lewisham Council Building Control or an approved inspector. On SE23's typically terraced and semi-detached stock, a Party Wall notice to adjoining neighbours is normally required before the steelwork. We coordinate both as part of the Complete package.
In value terms, yes. With Forest Hill (SE23) property at approx £600k, £1.2m for houses, £375k, £600k for flats (Land Registry, 2024), a well-designed extension or loft typically returns more than it costs in added floor area and sale value. The bigger risk is an unapproved or non-compliant scheme — which is why council-ready drawings and a clean Building Control sign-off matter on SE23 homes.
If your site sits close to the edge of the borough, it is worth checking the authority next door. Browse everything we do in SE3, SE4, SE6, SE12, SE13 and SE26.
Pick a slot that suits you. No obligation and no sales pressure, just straight answers on your planning route.
Every SE23 postcode district we draw in, the stock that dominates it and the authority that validates a building regulations package there. SE23 fees below are the statutory England rates for 2026, not building regulations package estimates.
| Postcode | Area | Dominant stock | What it means for a building regulations package |
|---|---|---|---|
| SE23 | Forest Hill / Honor Oak | Victorian villas, Edwardian terraces | SE23 covers Forest Hill / Honor Oak only; Lewisham Council handles the building regulations package. |
| SE23 | Forest Hill | Victorian villas, Edwardian terraces | A SE23 address in Forest Hill can route building control through Lewisham Council or through an approved inspector. Both discharge the same duty; the fee and the inspection timetable are what differ. |
| SE23 | Honor Oak | Victorian villas, Edwardian terraces | Honor Oak sits inside SE23. The Building Regulations check can be bought from Lewisham Council building control or from a private approved inspector — the owner chooses, and the choice is not tied to the borough boundary. |
| SE4 | Brockley | Victorian and Edwardian terraces | Adjoining district to SE23. Building control here can go to Lewisham or to an approved inspector, on the same terms as in SE23. |
| SE6 | Catford / Bellingham | 1930s semi-detached, post-war flats | Adjoining district to SE23. Building control here can go to Lewisham or to an approved inspector, on the same terms as in SE23. |
| SE8 | Deptford | Georgian terraces, post-war estates, new-build | Adjoining district to SE23. Building control here can go to Lewisham or to an approved inspector, on the same terms as in SE23. |
| SE12 | Lee / Grove Park | mixed stock | Adjoining district to SE23. Building control here can go to Lewisham or to an approved inspector, on the same terms as in SE23. |
Roof pitch, wall build-up and plot depth change every few SE23 streets, and each one changes what a building regulations package can achieve at that address.
How designation changes a SE23 (Forest Hill / Honor Oak) building regulations package: Lewisham Council maintains 30 conservation areas, including Forest Hill, Hither Green, Lee Green. Inside any of them a SE23 (Forest Hill / Honor Oak) building regulations package cannot rely on permitted development, and the route becomes a £548 householder application determined in 8 weeks rather than a £249 prior approval in 6 weeks. Forest Hill sets the tone for SE23 (Forest Hill / Honor Oak) casework.
No blanket Article 4 over SE23 (Forest Hill / Honor Oak): Lewisham Council has not withdrawn permitted development across SE23 (Forest Hill / Honor Oak), so a building regulations package outside a SE23 (Forest Hill / Honor Oak) conservation area usually keeps it. The £274 Lawful Development Certificate is still the document a SE23 owner wants on file.
SE23 (Forest Hill / Honor Oak) housing stock: Victorian and Edwardian terraces across Brockley, Honor Oak, Forest Hill; 1930s semi-detached in Catford and Hither Green; post-war mixed in Deptford. Generally permissive planning compared to central boroughs; loft conversions and side-return extensions routinely approved under PD. Read that before choosing a building regulations package route in SE23 (Forest Hill / Honor Oak) — construction, not postcode, sets what is achievable. Lewisham Council charges £548 for a householder application and has 8 weeks to determine it.
Sources for this SE23 building regulations 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.
Free fixed quote in 60 seconds. MCIAT chartered.
Get my free quote →Or contact us about your project firstVictorian and Edwardian terraces and villas across Forest Hill and Honor Oak, larger detached houses on the hills, and 1930s semis towards Perry Vale.
Local values run approx £600,000–£1.2m for houses, £375,000–£600,000 for flats. Source: Land Registry, 2024.
You can search by service or borough to find the right fit, or create a free account to track your project. When you are ready, get a quote in minutes — most homeowners have a fee in minutes — or contact us for a chat and a chartered technologist will be in touch.
