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Bright finished basement room with a glass-balustrade staircase, high windows and a built-in desk
Photograph: Point3D Commercial Imaging Ltd.

01Camden, London

Basement conversion drawings for Camden houses

Camden writes its basement limits into a dedicated guidance document, and they are specific: depth, share of garden, footprint ratio and soil above the slab. We draw to each from £1,995 including VAT, and coordinate the basement impact assessment where one is needed.

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    02The brief

    Camden's four measures

    The Basements CPG (Camden Planning Guidance) limits a basement on four measures. Depth: roughly 3-4 m of excavation counts as one storey. Extent: the headline limits in the guidance read 1 storey; 50%.

    Footprint: a basement should come in under 1.5 x footprint for the host building, and reach no further than half the depth of the building and of the garden. Soil: 1 m soil is expected above any part that extends beyond the building footprint. We fix all four at the first design option.

    Georgian brick terrace with sash windows, arched fanlight doorways, stone steps and iron railings in London
    Rear view of brick terraced houses in London with slate roofs and chimney stacks along the shared roofline
    Photograph: Ben Hadfield

    03The record

    Local figures for Camden

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Basement development must be no more than one storey deep and must not exceed 50% of the garden of the property.1 storey; 50%No periodcamden.gov.uk, Basements CPG, PDF p.7, Key messages
    A single basement storey is taken as approximately 3 to 4 metres of total excavation depth (external dimensions).3-4 mNo periodcamden.gov.uk, Basements CPG, p.11, Policy A5 criterion f
    Basements must be less than 1.5 times the host building footprint, extend no further than 50% of the depth of the host building and 50% of the garden depth, and be set back from neighbouring boundaries.1.5 x footprintNo periodcamden.gov.uk, Basements CPG, pp.13-14, Policy A5 criteria i-l
    A minimum of 1 metre of soil is expected above basement development extending beyond the building footprint.1 m soilNo periodcamden.gov.uk, Basements CPG, p.20, para 3.2
    Supplementary planning documentBasements CPG (Camden Planning Guidance)2021camden.gov.uk
    Domestic gardens share of land (GLUD 2005)19.1 % of land that is domestic garden (GLUD 2005)2005data.london.gov.uk
    Conservation areas40 named conservation areas published by the councilNo periodplanning.data.gov.uk
    Article 4 directions21 Article 4 directions published by the councilNo periodplanning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries1,971 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)No periodplanning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building consent decisions (PS2)402 listed building consent decisions (to alter or extend)2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Listed building consents granted (PS2)95 % granted2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Households living in a house13.3 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Party Wall etc. Act 1996 s6(1), s6(2), s6(5)Adjacent excavation notice at least 1 month before work: within 3 m and deeper than the neighbour's foundations, or within 6 m and cutting a 45° line from their foundationsNo periodlegislation.gov.uk
    Approved Document B Vol 1, para 2.16Basement storeys with habitable rooms need an escape window or external door, or a protected stair to a final exitNo periodgov.uk

    A blank value means the figure has not been published, not that there are none. Check your own address with the council.

    Camden6 neighbouring councils
    Councils bordering Camden

    04The streets

    Householder applications by street in Camden

    Streets in Camden with the most householder applications, and the share approved
    StreetApplicationsApproved
    Crediton Hill2291%
    Belsize Lane1994%
    Elliott Square17100%
    Constantine Road16100%
    King Henry's Road1691%
    Camden Mews1490%
    Elsworthy Road1477%
    Solent Road1492%
    Sumatra Road1493%
    Goldhurst Terrace13100%
    Dartmouth Park Road1290%
    Hillfield Road1282%
    Hollycroft Avenue1280%
    Meadowbank1282%
    Patshull Road12100%

    Counts of householder applications by street; no individual applications are shown. Streets with fewer than five applications are left out.

    GLA Planning London Datahub, householder applications

    05The drawing

    A basement in sectionA, Camden: depth and garden share: 1 storey; 50%. B, Camden: excavation depth: 3-4 m. C, Camden: soil over the basement: 1 m soil. D, Camden: footprint: 1.5 x footprint. E, Party wall notice for excavation: Adjacent excavation notice at least 1 month before work: within 3 m and deeper than the neighbour's foundations, or within 6 m and cutting a 45° line from their foundations. F, Escape from basement rooms: Basement storeys with habitable rooms need an escape window or external door, or a protected stair to a final exitABCDEF

    A basement in section

    A house and garden over a single-storey basement. The lettered marks show the limits the legend gives.

    A Camden: depth and garden share
    1 storey; 50%
    B Camden: excavation depth
    3-4 m
    C Camden: soil over the basement
    1 m soil
    D Camden: footprint
    1.5 x footprint
    E Party wall notice for excavation
    Adjacent excavation notice at least 1 month before work: within 3 m and deeper than the neighbour's foundations, or within 6 m and cutting a 45° line from their foundations
    F Escape from basement rooms
    Basement storeys with habitable rooms need an escape window or external door, or a protected stair to a final exit
    The basement in three dimensions3D
    Scroll the page: the model turns with it.

    06The detail

    Independent checking of the assessment

    A basement impact assessment is required and will normally need independent verification, funded by the applicant, and a construction management plan will generally be required. That is the requirement in Camden's CPG.

    We draw the sections and plans that the assessment and the verifier work from, so the structural engineer and the assessor start from one set.

    Period houses above and beside

    Camden's older streets carry a lot of designation: 1,971 list entries, 40 conservation areas and 21 Article 4 directions. The half-garden measure above is checked against the garden you actually have, and domestic gardens cover 19.1% of the borough's land in the GLUD dataset.

    For a listed house the council decided 402 listed building consent applications in its latest year and granted 95%. How we prepare one is set out in listed building consent drawings in Camden. Guides to the borough's period streets include Hampstead and Belsize Park.

    Flats, shared structure and the wall next door

    Only 13.3% of Camden households live in a house, so many basement projects sit under a building that has been split into flats or share a party wall with one. We ask early who owns what, because a lease or a shared freehold can decide who may apply.

    Excavation near a neighbour brings in the Party Wall etc. Act 1996: Adjacent excavation notice at least 1 month before work: within 3 m and deeper than the neighbour's foundations, or within 6 m and cutting a 45° line from their foundations. Under Building Regulations the rooms themselves need a way out: Basement storeys with habitable rooms need an escape window or external door, or a protected stair to a final exit. For the roof on the same building, mansard roof drawings in Camden describes the application, and the basement conversion drawings hub sets Camden beside other councils.

    Planning sheet for a single-storey rear extension: proposed ground floor plan and rear elevation, with the Property Architecture title block
    Sample drawing. Proposed plan and rear elevation from a planning application set, sheet 03 at 1:50.

    07The papers

    What the drawings rest on

    Brick house being extended, with a wide new opening supported over the ground floorStructural calculations
    Photograph: Brett Jordan
    Structural calculation sheet for a steel beam over a new rear opening, with the load diagram, loading table and section checks
    Sample drawing. Beam B1 over a new rear opening: loading, bending moment and section checks.

    08Correspondence

    Questions

    How deep can a basement go in Camden?

    One storey, which the Basements CPG reads as roughly 3-4 m of excavation.

    Does a Camden basement need an impact assessment?

    Yes. The CPG requires a basement impact assessment, which will normally need independent verification funded by the applicant. We draw to what the assessor and the verifier need.

    How often does Camden grant listed building consent?

    In its latest year the council decided 402 applications to alter or extend a listed building and granted 95%. A basement under a listed house needs that consent as well as planning permission.

    Rows of brick terraced houses and gardens on a residential street

    19.1%

    of land that is domestic garden (GLUD 2005)

    Domestic gardens share of land (GLUD 2005), Camden, 2005. Source: data.london.gov.uk

    Photograph: Altaf Shah

    09Further reading

    Other services in Camden

    Basement conversion drawings nearby

    10Sources

    Sources and dates

    Licences

    Kensington street lined with brick townhouses and lit streetlamps beneath an orange dusk sky

    Send us the address of your house.

    We look up the conservation area, listing and Article 4 position, then reply with a fixed fee. A message before 3pm is answered the same working day.

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    Basement conversion drawings in Camden