Planning Permission in Rotherhithe | Fixed-Fee Plans

An Article 4 Direction applies across Southwark, so check it before assuming Rotherhithe permitted development survives. In Rotherhithe the streetscape argument usually decides the case before the numbers do, because the area is warehouse conversions, riverside. Southwark carries 43 conservation areas; if the SE16 address falls in Camberwell Grove or Bermondsey Street, expect the permitted-development route to close and a full Southwark Council application to be the faster answer. The designation map is read street by street in Rotherhithe.

Before drawing anything for Rotherhithe, we check Article 4 directions against the SE16 boundary. On a Rotherhithe house the measurements bite through the warehouse conversions: it sets the original rear wall, and the roofline around Surrey Quays sets what ridge height will pass. The borough policy layer over every SE16 address is set out on Southwark planning. The Rotherhithe survey then carries into loft conversion drawings in Rotherhithe if the project runs on to construction.

The Rotherhithe clock does not start until London Borough of Southwark validates — one to two weeks. Week one is a laser measured survey at your Rotherhithe property; the existing plans are drawn from that survey, never from an estate agent's floorplan.

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.

Neighbour consultation on a Rotherhithe case runs 21 days from registration. We format the Rotherhithe set exactly as Southwark Council wants to receive it.

Objections on a Rotherhithe case usually come from the immediate neighbours, not the wider SE16 area. Existing structure in the warehouse conversions is identified at survey, not guessed later.

Budget notice time on any Rotherhithe job touching a shared wall. Once consent is granted, house extension drawings follows for the SE16 property.

Rotherhithe is characterised by warehouse conversions, post-war estates, new-build, concentrated across SE16 in the Bermondsey / Rotherhithe area. The warehouse conversions across Rotherhithe decides how a scheme is built, not just how it looks. On the Rotherhithe stock specifically: post-war stock here frequently sits inside an estate layout, so the site plan has to show the wider block, not just the curtilage. It shapes what a SE16 scheme can realistically achieve. Because Rotherhithe rows are consistent, the proposed elevation is drawn with neighbours on it.

Digging under a Rotherhithe house is a structural question before a planning one. Because the Rotherhithe survey is drawn properly once, architectural drawings for SE16 properties and building regulations drawings build on it rather than starting again.

What the Rotherhithe drawing pack contains

Everything a Rotherhithe submission needs is in the list below.

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

Local landmarks that shape a Rotherhithe application

• Southwark Park — roof profiles that set the ridge datum Southwark Council measures a Southwark Park dormer against.
• Stave Hill — shared flank walls, so Stave Hill party structure notices go out before work starts.
• King's Stairs Gardens — terraced rear elevations — the King's Stairs Gardens party wall position is drawn first.
• Surrey Quays — massing on adjoining SE16 plots is tested against it.
• Mayflower Pub — nearby warehouse conversions takes its scale from this frontage.
• St Olave's Hospital — schemes in view of it attract closer officer scrutiny.
• Foundling Hospital — proposals in its setting are drawn with the Rotherhithe context elevation.
• Bacon's College — Southwark Council weighs SE16 sightlines to it in the character assessment.

Getting to a Rotherhithe survey

Surveyors travel to SE16 addresses from the studio; the nearest stations are Rotherhithe, Surrey Quays, Canada Water, Bermondsey. Appointments are booked in Rotherhithe on weekdays and Saturdays, and the measured survey of a standard warehouse conversions takes two to three hours.

Where Rotherhithe sits

on Ordnance Survey grid reference TQ358796, with the River Thames shaping drainage and flood-risk questions on lower-lying SE16 plots, inside the Bermondsey and Old Southwark parliamentary constituency. We draw the Rotherhithe location and block plans from that reference, which is what Southwark Council validates against. Source.

Practical detail for a Rotherhithe submission: access is via Rotherhithe and Surrey Quays and Canada Water and Bermondsey; mail for Rotherhithe routes via LONDON; dialling code 020. Site plans are drawn to the address as Southwark Council holds it.

Rotherhithe postcode coverage

Our Rotherhithe coverage takes in SE16 (Bermondsey / Rotherhithe), shared with Bermondsey.

Streets and stations in Rotherhithe

Southwark Park, Stave Hill and King's Stairs Gardens are typical of the Rotherhithe streets we draw. most Rotherhithe sites are within walking distance of Rotherhithe or Surrey Quays or Canada Water.

Areas we cover around Rotherhithe

Coverage from Rotherhithe extends to Herne Hill (SE24), Kennington (SE11), Streatham (SW16), Stockwell (SW9), Vauxhall (SE11, SW8), West Norwood (SE27) and into Lambeth.

Two Rotherhithe jobs differ in price because of the warehouse conversions and the Camberwell Grove designation, never because of hours booked.

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.

Those statutory fees go to London Borough of Southwark on submission. London planning approval-rate dataset · Southwark planning · planning permission in London · planning permission in Herne Hill.

Chartered accountability applies to every SE16 drawing we issue. A tight Rotherhithe plot — Mayflower Pub in the setting, a shared flank wall on SE16 — goes to Southwark Council for advice before it goes to determination.

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.

A short call about the Rotherhithe property is usually enough to scope the job. This Rotherhithe page was reviewed in August 2026.