Which postcode districts around Havering do we cover for permitted development scheme work?
Each Havering postcode district we work in, what was built there, and which authority signs off a permitted development scheme in it. The charges listed are the statutory England application rates for 2026 and describe paperwork, not building work.
| Postcode | Area | Dominant stock | What it means for a permitted development scheme |
|---|
| RM4 | Havering-atte-Bower | Havering was built between the wars and immediately after them: 31.9% of its 108,670 dwellings date from the 1930s and a further 28.0% from 1945 to 1964, while only 1.7% were built before 1900 (VOA CTSOP4.1 build-period table, 31 March 2025). Hornchurch and Upminster hold the inter-war semis, Harold Hill the post-war estates, and the older centre of Romford what little Victorian stock the borough has. | A permitted development scheme at an RM4 address in Havering-atte-Bower is determined by Havering Council under its own Local Plan policies for Havering-atte-Bower. |
| RM5 | Collier Row | 1930s semi-detached | Collier Row sits wholly inside RM5, so Havering Council validates every permitted development scheme submitted from an RM5 address. |
| RM7 | Romford / Rush Green | Victorian terraces, 1930s semi-detached, post-war flats | RM7 is Romford and Rush Green, entirely inside the borough. Plots here are tighter than in the east of Havering and the stock is mixed inter-war and post-war, so the rule that usually stops a scheme is not the depth allowance but the requirement that buildings cover no more than half the curtilage. |
| RM11 | Hornchurch / Emerson Park | 1930s semi-detached | RM11 takes in Hornchurch and Emerson Park. Emerson Park is the borough's large-plot detached quarter, where a 4m single-storey rear projection, or 8m through prior approval, still leaves the curtilage well under the 50% coverage ceiling that constrains tighter districts. |
| RM12 | Hornchurch / Elm Park | 1930s semi-detached | RM12 covers Hornchurch and Elm Park and is almost uniformly semi-detached. On an attached house the rear allowance is 3m, extended to 6m by prior approval, and any part of it standing closer than two metres to a boundary is capped at 3m to the eaves. That last condition is what reshapes most Elm Park schemes. |
| RM13 | Rainham / Wennington | 1930s semi-detached | RM13 is Rainham and Wennington, and this is the district where the flood map matters. Just under a tenth of Havering's land area falls inside Flood Zone 3, concentrated on the marshes here (Environment Agency flood zone extents, retrieved 1 September 2026). A zone 3 address needs a Flood Risk Assessment lodged with the application. That is a documentation requirement driven by the undefended extent of the river, and not a statement about your house. |
| RM14 | Upminster / Cranham | 1930s semi-detached, Edwardian villas | Upminster / Cranham sits wholly inside RM14, so Havering Council validates every permitted development scheme submitted from an RM14 address. |
| RM1 | Romford Central | Victorian terraces, 1930s semi-detached, post-war flats | RM1 covers Romford Central only; Havering Council handles the permitted development scheme. |
How does a permitted development scheme differ street by street across Havering?
Two Havering houses on the same road can take quite different schemes. The pitch of the roof, the thickness of the wall build-up and the depth behind the back wall all vary, and between them they set the ceiling on what is achievable without applying.
- Romford (RM1, RM2, RM7) — Victorian and post-war centre defines Romford, where victorian terraces, 1930s semi-detached, post-war flats set what a permitted development scheme can do. Most applications on these Victorian streets are householder applications validated on existing and proposed plans across RM1. Any Romford permitted development scheme is validated by Havering Council, with Romford Market the usual Romford reference point on the site plan.
- Hornchurch (RM11, RM12) — permitted development scheme work in Hornchurch means 1930s semi-detached. Hornchurch is 1930s semi-detached. On these 1930s semis the prior approval route often replaces a full application throughout RM11. Havering Council decides the Hornchurch application, and Hornchurch Tube anchors the Hornchurch location plan.
- Upminster (RM14) — 1930s semi-detached, Edwardian villas defines Upminster, where 1930s semi-detached, edwardian villas set what a permitted development scheme can do. Edwardian houses here typically need the same householder set plus a roof plan where a dormer is proposed across RM14. Any Upminster permitted development scheme is validated by Havering Council, with Upminster station the usual Upminster reference point on the site plan.
- Rainham (RM13) — permitted development scheme work in Rainham means 1930s semi-detached. Rainham is 1930s semi-detached, village fragments. On these 1930s semis the prior approval route often replaces a full application throughout RM13. Havering Council decides the Rainham application, and Rainham Village anchors the Rainham location plan.
- Harold Hill (RM3) — permitted development scheme work in Harold Hill means post-war estate. Harold Hill is post-war estate. Post-war stock here frequently sits inside an estate layout throughout RM3. Havering Council decides the Harold Hill application, and Harold Hill anchors the Harold Hill location plan.
- Collier Row (RM5) — a permitted development scheme in Collier Row starts from 1930s semi-detached, and Collier Row reads as 1930s semi-detached, post-war. On these 1930s semis the prior approval route often replaces a full application in RM5. Havering Council assesses Collier Row permitted development schemes against its own Collier Row character guidance, and the location plan we draw for Collier Row references Collier Row Road.
- Elm Park (RM12) — permitted development scheme work in Elm Park means 1930s semi-detached. Elm Park is 1930s semi-detached. On these 1930s semis the prior approval route often replaces a full application throughout RM12. Havering Council decides the Elm Park application, and Elm Park Tube anchors the Elm Park location plan.
How do conservation areas and Article 4 affect a permitted development scheme in Havering?
What designation actually costs you here: in the protected areas at Rainham Village, Romford Market and Upminster, the permitted development route simply closes. A scheme that would have run through as a £249 prior approval in about six weeks becomes a £548 householder application decided in eight, and it has to be won on design merit rather than on an allowance. Upminster is the designation that most often changes what we are able to draw.
No blanket Article 4 over Havering: Havering Council has not withdrawn permitted development across Havering, so a permitted development scheme outside a Havering conservation area usually keeps it. The £274 Lawful Development Certificate is still the document a RM1 owner wants on file.
Havering housing stock: 1930s semi-detached dominates Hornchurch and Upminster; post-war in Harold Hill and Romford; Victorian in older Romford centre. Outer east London; Metropolitan Green Belt covers north of the borough; permissive residential planning; strong PD use. Read that before choosing a permitted development scheme route in Havering — construction, not postcode, sets what is achievable.
Who decides a permitted development scheme on the edge of Havering?
- Barking and Dagenham — the Barking and Dagenham boundary runs against Havering, so a permitted development scheme a street from Havering is decided by Barking and Dagenham Council instead. Barking and Dagenham runs 9 conservation areas across IG11 and its neighbours, which is why permitted development schemes priced for Havering are re-checked against Barking and Dagenham policy whenever the Havering address sits on that edge.
- Redbridge — the Redbridge boundary runs against Havering, so a permitted development scheme a street from Havering is decided by Redbridge Council instead. Redbridge runs 14 conservation areas across E11 and its neighbours, which is why permitted development schemes priced for Havering are re-checked against Redbridge policy whenever the Havering address sits on that edge.
Sources for this Havering permitted development scheme 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.
