Planning Permission in Bermondsey | Fixed-Fee Plans

An Article 4 Direction applies across Southwark, so check it before assuming Bermondsey permitted development survives. Bermondsey reads as warehouse conversions, Georgian fragments, and that is the context a SE1 scheme is judged in. Southwark has 43 conservation areas, and Peckham Rye is the one that most often covers Bermondsey stock. We confirm the SE1 designation at survey rather than assuming it.

How Article 4 directions apply to your Bermondsey street is settled at survey stage, not after submission. What can be built on a Bermondsey plot is decided by the warehouse conversions — the original rear wall position first, the Bermondsey Street roofline second. The borough policy layer over every SE1, SE16 address is set out on Southwark planning. The Bermondsey survey then carries into architectural drawings in Bermondsey if the project runs on to construction.

Validation at London Borough of Southwark is the first delay a Bermondsey applicant meets. No Bermondsey design work starts until the measured survey is complete.

Statutory periods: 8 weeks from validation for a householder application, 13 weeks for a major scheme, 6 weeks for prior approval with a 21 days neighbour consultation, and 5 weeks for a full plans building control submission. A party structure notice requires one month notice and two months where excavation is involved.

An officer report on the SE1 case is written after the consultation closes. Output for Bermondsey: dimensioned PDFs at the scales the authority specifies.

Most Bermondsey refusals trace back to overlooking, not to size. A Bermondsey survey takes two to three hours and needs access to every room.

Most Bermondsey terraces share a flank wall, so party wall notices apply. Once consent is granted, building regulations drawings follows for the SE1 property.

Bermondsey is characterised by warehouse conversions, georgian terraces, new-build, concentrated across SE1, SE16 in the Bermondsey / Borough / Waterloo area. Bermondsey is not uniform, but the warehouse conversions recurs often enough across SE1, SE16 that the structural pattern is predictable once measured. Where Bermondsey is concerned, applications on Georgian stock here almost always need a heritage statement alongside the drawings. It is the first thing checked at the Bermondsey survey. Because Bermondsey rows are consistent, the proposed elevation is drawn with neighbours on it.

Digging under a Bermondsey house is a structural question before a planning one. One Bermondsey survey serves loft conversion drawings for SE1 properties and house extension drawings too; we do not re-measure a SE1 property for each submission.

What the Bermondsey drawing pack contains

The drawing schedule for a Bermondsey project runs as follows.

• site location plan for the Bermondsey property
• block plan
• existing and proposed floor plans
• existing and proposed elevations
• Design & Access Statement

Streets and landmarks we survey around Bermondsey

• Bermondsey Street — terraced rear elevations — the Bermondsey Street party wall position is drawn first.
• Jamaica Road — roof profiles that set the ridge datum Southwark Council measures a Jamaica Road dormer against.
• Bermondsey Spa Gardens — closet wings that change how a rear extension meets the Bermondsey Spa Gardens back addition.
• Rouel Road — terraced rear elevations — the Rouel Road party wall position is drawn first.
• Tower Bridge Road — frontages visible from the highway, so Peckham Rye materials detail governs the Tower Bridge Road elevation.
• London Inner Ring Road — frontages visible from the highway, so Peckham Rye materials detail governs the London Inner Ring Road elevation.
• Great Dover Street — closet wings that change how a rear extension meets the Great Dover Street back addition.
• Old Kent Road — terraced rear elevations — the Old Kent Road party wall position is drawn first.
• Bermondsey Street — nearby warehouse conversions takes its scale from this frontage.
• Maltby Street Market — schemes in view of it attract closer officer scrutiny.
• Bermondsey Market — a Bermondsey roof extension is judged against the datum it sets.
• London Bridge — schemes visible from it get closer scrutiny in Southwark.
• Tower Bridge — a Bermondsey roof extension is judged against the datum it sets.
• Waterloo Bridge — height and massing nearby are argued against this frontage.

Getting to a Bermondsey survey

Surveyors travel to SE1 addresses from the studio; the nearest stations are London Bridge station, Spa Road Station, Spa Road, South Bermondsey. Appointments are booked in Bermondsey on weekdays and Saturdays, and the measured survey of a standard warehouse conversions takes two to three hours.

Where Bermondsey sits

Bermondsey lies 2 miles (4 km) southeast of Charing Cross, on Ordnance Survey grid reference TQ335795, with the River Thames shaping drainage and flood-risk questions on lower-lying SE1 plots, inside the Bermondsey and Old Southwark parliamentary constituency. The SE1 block plan is set out from that grid square. Source.

Practical detail for a Bermondsey submission: surveyors travel in through London Bridge station and Spa Road Station and Spa Road and South Bermondsey; mail for Bermondsey routes via LONDON; dialling code 020. Site plans are drawn to the address as Southwark Council holds it.

Bermondsey postcode coverage

Surveys run across SE1 (Bermondsey / Borough / Waterloo), shared with Waterloo, Borough, Elephant and Castle; SE16 (Bermondsey / Rotherhithe), shared with Rotherhithe throughout Southwark.

Streets and stations in Bermondsey

The Bermondsey streets on our books include Bermondsey Street, Jamaica Road, Bermondsey Spa Gardens, Rouel Road, Tower Bridge Road, London Inner Ring Road, Great Dover Street and Old Kent Road. most Bermondsey sites are within walking distance of London Bridge station or Spa Road Station or Spa Road.

Areas we cover around Bermondsey

We take instructions from Honor Oak (SE23), Lewisham (SE13), Blackheath (SE3), Catford (SE6), Deptford (SE8), Hither Green (SE13) and everywhere between them and Bermondsey.

The fee follows the building. On Bermondsey stock that means party walls, levels, and the Peckham Rye heritage question.

Statutory application fees are set by regulation, not by the council: £548 householder, £610 for a new dwelling, £274 for a lawful development certificate, £249 for prior approval.

We invoice the drawings only; London Borough of Southwark takes the statutory fee from the Bermondsey applicant. London planning approval-rate dataset · Southwark planning · our London planning permission service · planning permission in Honor Oak.

Every Bermondsey drawing set is produced and signed off by a chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (MCIAT). Marginal SE1, SE16 sites get checked with Southwark Council first; a refusal costs far more than the advice fee.

Drawings are produced by chartered members of the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (MCIAT), the professional body for technical design and building-regulations competence. First-time approval across our London caseload is 98%. Statutory fees shown are those in force in England in 2026 under the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications) Regulations. Confirm your local authority at gov.uk and submission requirements on the Planning Portal. Studio: 71–75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ.

Send us the Bermondsey address and we will confirm the route before you commit. This Bermondsey page was reviewed in August 2026.