Richmond upon Thames applies some of London's tightest householder and conservation control around Kew Green, Kew Gardens and Central Richmond, with the Royal Botanic Gardens a UNESCO World Heritage Site nearby.


The borough-level guide to house extensions in Richmond upon Thames sets out how the same work is handled across the rest of the authority.
House extensions in Richmond are dominated by single-storey rear and side-return additions on TW9's victorian and georgian terraces and villas around, with double-storey and wrap-around schemes where the plot allows. Richmond Council weighs depth, height and neighbour daylight; many extensions across Richmond, Kew, Kew Gardens, North Sheen are Permitted Development, which we confirm with a Lawful Development Certificate before you build.
The whole spectrum — rear extensions, side returns, wraparounds, double-storey, basement digs. Planning-led design with detailed technical phase, ideal for victorian and georgian terraces and villas around typical of Richmond.
Across Richmond, Kew, Kew Gardens, North Sheen in TW9, the dominant property is victorian and georgian terraces and villas around richmond and kew, riverside houses, and mansion flats — a premium river market. That stock shapes what house extension drawings looks like here: the right approach for a period terrace differs from a mansion-block flat or a new-build, and Richmond Council judges each on design quality and neighbour impact. We survey the specific Richmond property, confirm the planning route — Permitted Development, a Lawful Development Certificate, or full planning — and draw a council-ready set tailored to the TW9 streetscape.
Housing stock in TW9: Victorian and Georgian terraces and villas around Richmond and Kew, riverside houses, and mansion flats — a premium river market.
Within the district: Richmond, Kew, Kew Gardens, North Sheen.
Streets we know in TW9: the Kew Green and Kew Gardens roads, Richmond Green and the streets around the Royal Botanic Gardens. Each road has its own building line, boundary treatment and precedent that Richmond Council weighs when assessing a house extension drawings scheme.
Conservation areas: Kew Green, Kew Gardens, Central Richmond, Richmond Green. Inside these, most external work needs full planning and a Heritage Statement.
Getting around TW9: Richmond and Kew Gardens on the District line and Overground, plus South Western Railway and Kew Bridge.
Property values: around £500,000 for a flat and £900,000-£1.6m for a house — a useful gauge of the build value an extension or loft adds in TW9.
Borough character: Highest conservation area coverage in London; Royal Parks and Thames corridor add heritage layers; design quality heavily scrutinised.
Measured existing survey, photographic record, Article 4 and conservation check specific to Richmond before we quote.
2–3 design options at concept stage — alternative layouts, glazing, roof forms.
Site location plan, existing and proposed plans, elevations, sections, D&AS where required.
Part L thermal, Part B fire, Part M accessibility, structural strategy.
Steel beam, foundation, lintel design. Chartered engineer sign-off.
Party Wall notices where needed; Thames Water Build Over Agreement where within 3m of a public sewer.
Single planning or building-regs submission.
Planning + building regs + structural.
Listed, conservation or complex sites.

Yes, but most of TW9 sits in the Kew Green, Kew Gardens, Central Richmond or Richmond Green conservation areas, where rear and side extensions and roof changes need full planning with a Heritage Statement rather than Permitted Development. Proximity to the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Kew also raises the bar. We design to the period and submit to Richmond.
Very. The Kew Gardens and Kew Green conservation areas protect the Victorian and Georgian character, and the council resists changes that harm the setting of the Royal Botanic Gardens World Heritage Site. We produce a careful Heritage Statement and design within those constraints for a realistic chance of consent.
Rarely — most TW9 houses are in conservation areas where Permitted Development for roof changes is removed, so a dormer needs full planning and conservation rooflights are often preferred to the street side. We confirm the designation for your road and design the scheme to suit.
With TW9 houses commonly £900,000-£1.6m, a well-designed and consented extension or loft adds substantial value and family space in one of London's most desirable river markets. The planning bar is high, so professional drawings and a strong Heritage Statement matter.
With Richmond property at around £500,000 for a flat and £900,000-£1.6m for a house, the professional drawing fee is a small fraction of the value the work adds to TW9's victorian and georgian terraces and villas around. Richmond 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 TW9 address.
For a TW9 project across Richmond, Kew, Kew Gardens, North Sheen, 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 Richmond Council (8 weeks for a householder application). We carry the Richmond application through every officer query to the decision.
Richmond (TW9) sits primarily in Richmond upon Thames, so applications are decided by Richmond Council. Conservation areas within TW9 include Kew Green, Kew Gardens, Central Richmond, Richmond Green, 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 house extension drawings in Richmond — 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 Richmond Council Building Control or an approved inspector. On TW9'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 Richmond (TW9) property at around £500, 000 for a flat and £900, 000-£1.6m for a house, 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 TW9 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 SW13, SW14, TW1, TW2, TW10, TW11 and TW12.
Pick a slot that suits you. No obligation and no sales pressure, just straight answers on your planning route.
Every TW9 postcode district we draw in, the stock that dominates it and the authority that validates a house extension there. TW9 fees below are the statutory England rates for 2026, not house extension estimates.
| Postcode | Area | Dominant stock | What it means for a house extension |
|---|---|---|---|
| TW9 | Richmond / Kew | Georgian terraces, Victorian villas | Richmond / Kew sits wholly inside TW9, so Richmond Council validates every house extension submitted from an TW9 address. |
| TW9 | Richmond | Georgian terraces, Victorian villas | Richmond sits inside TW9; house extension proposals here are determined by Richmond Council. |
| TW9 | Kew | Georgian and Edwardian villas | Kew sits inside TW9; house extension proposals here are determined by Richmond Council. |
| SW13 | Barnes | Georgian villas, Edwardian terraces | Adjoining district to TW9, also inside Richmond upon Thames for house extension purposes. |
| SW14 | Mortlake / East Sheen | Edwardian villas, 1930s semi-detached | Adjoining district to TW9, also inside Richmond upon Thames for house extension purposes. |
| TW1 | Twickenham | Georgian fragments, Victorian terraces, Edwardian villas | Adjoining district to TW9, also inside Richmond upon Thames for house extension purposes. |
| TW2 | Twickenham / Whitton | Georgian fragments, Victorian terraces, Edwardian villas | Adjoining district to TW9, also inside Richmond upon Thames for house extension purposes. |
Roof pitch, wall build-up and plot depth change every few TW9 streets, and each one changes what a house extension can achieve at that address.
TW9 (Richmond / Kew) conservation designations: there are 72 across Richmond Council, Barnes Village, Ham Common, Richmond Green among them. Designation costs a TW9 (Richmond / Kew) owner the permitted-development route: a house extension then needs a £548 householder application over 8 weeks, in place of the £249 prior approval route that takes 6 weeks. Twickenham Riverside is the TW9 (Richmond / Kew) designation that most often changes a house extension design.
TW9 (Richmond / Kew) permitted development status: there is no borough-wide direction from Richmond Council, so a house extension at a TW9 address is normally still permitted development. We certify that with a £274 Lawful Development Certificate rather than leaving a TW9 (Richmond / Kew) sale to argue it later.
The building fabric around TW9 (Richmond / Kew): Georgian in Richmond Green and Twickenham; Edwardian villas in Barnes and East Sheen; 1930s semi-detached in Whitton; riverside cottages along the Thames. Highest conservation area coverage in London; Royal Parks and Thames corridor add heritage layers; design quality heavily scrutinised. A house extension in TW9 (Richmond / Kew) is scoped against that stock first, because it decides whether the scheme runs as permitted development, a £274 Lawful Development Certificate, or a full £548 application to Richmond Council.
Sources for this TW9 house extension 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.
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