01Hackney, London
Basement conversion drawings in Hackney
Hackney basement schemes tend to turn on the building before the dig: is the house listed, does it stand in a conservation area, and whose foundations lie on the other side of the party wall? We settle those three first, then draw the planning, structural and party wall sheets together. Drawings start at £1,995 with VAT included.
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02The brief
Hackney sets no depth figure that we can quote
Our record holds no Hackney limit on basement depth or on the share of garden a basement may take, so we do not state one. The London Plan sets the frame: Boroughs should set policies on large-scale basements where this is a local issue. We read what Hackney publishes for your address before we draw.
Garden matters because the space a basement reaches beyond the house footprint is usually garden. The GLA's GLUD land-use survey, dated in the table below, put domestic gardens at 18.5% of the borough's land.
03The record
Local figures for Hackney
| Measure | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conservation areas | 37 named conservation areas published by the council | No period | planning.data.gov.uk |
| Article 4 directions | 77 Article 4 directions published by the council | No period | planning.data.gov.uk |
| Listed building entries | 555 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary) | No period | planning.data.gov.uk |
| Domestic gardens share of land (GLUD 2005) | 18.5 % of land that is domestic garden (GLUD 2005) | 2005 | data.london.gov.uk |
| London Plan 2021 Policy D10(A) | Boroughs should set policies on large-scale basements where this is a local issue | No period | london.gov.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 foundations | No period | legislation.gov.uk |
| Approved Document B Vol 1, para 2.16 | Basement storeys with habitable rooms need an escape window or external door, or a protected stair to a final exit | No period | gov.uk |
| Householder: alterations/extensions to a single dwellinghouse, from 1 Apr 2026 | 548 GBP | No period | ribblevalley.gov.uk |
A blank value means the figure has not been published, not that there are none. Check your own address with the council.
04The streets
Householder applications by street in Hackney
| Street | Applications | Approved |
|---|---|---|
| Winston Road | 52 | 88% |
| Osbaldeston Road | 39 | 69% |
| Rushmore Road | 37 | 83% |
| Forburg Road | 31 | 65% |
| Olinda Road | 31 | 71% |
| Durlston Road | 30 | 89% |
| Powerscroft Road | 30 | 93% |
| Brooke Road | 28 | 74% |
| Elderfield Road | 25 | 80% |
| Glyn Road | 25 | 100% |
| Kyverdale Road | 25 | 76% |
| Lavender Grove | 24 | 77% |
| Alkham Road | 23 | 70% |
| Clifden Road | 23 | 91% |
| Culford Road | 23 | 76% |
Counts of householder applications by street; no individual applications are shown. Streets with fewer than five applications are left out.
05The drawing
A basement in section
A house and garden over a single-storey basement. The lettered marks show the limits the legend gives.
- A 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
- B Escape from basement rooms
- Basement storeys with habitable rooms need an escape window or external door, or a protected stair to a final exit
06The detail
Listed, or in a conservation area? Ask before you dig
The borough has 37 conservation areas, a register of 77 Article 4 directions and 555 list entries. Any of them can change the route for a basement, so we check all three before a survey is booked.
On a listed house the basement is a consent matter as well as a planning one, and the two applications have to agree. Start with listed building consent drawings in Hackney. A roof storey above is a different application again: see mansard roof drawings in Hackney.
Victorian terraces and the neighbour's side of the wall
Hackney's Victorian terraces were built as rows, and a basement under one house can sit beside foundations never meant to go deeper. 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.
Once a notice is served the clock matters. A dispute arises if the adjoining owner does not consent within 14 days of the notice. The rooms below then need their own protection: Basement storeys with habitable rooms need an escape window or external door, or a protected stair to a final exit. All dwellings: fire detection and alarm system minimum Grade D2 Category LD3 (BS 5839-6), mains-operated smoke alarms to BS EN 14604. Our drawings show both from the first issue.
Fees and the wider route
The council's householder application fee is £548, paid to the council. Our fee is from £1,995, VAT included, and structural calculations are quoted as a separate item. The route for period houses across London is on the basement conversion drawings hub.
07The papers
What the drawings rest on
Party wall services
08Correspondence
Questions
Does Hackney limit how deep a basement can be?
Our record holds no Hackney depth limit, so we do not state one. The London Plan tells boroughs to set policy on large basements where it is a local issue, and we read what Hackney publishes for your address before drawing.
Should I warn Hackney neighbours before drawing starts?
It helps, because the Act sets the trigger: 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. Once the basement design is fixed we can draw the notice plans for you, from £45 for each adjoining owner.
Does a listed house in Hackney need more than planning permission for a basement?
Yes: it needs listed building consent for the work to the building as well. We draw both applications from one survey so they tell the same story.
18.5%
of land that is domestic garden (GLUD 2005)
Domestic gardens share of land (GLUD 2005), Hackney, 2005. Source: data.london.gov.uk
09Further reading
Related pages
Other services in Hackney
10Sources
Sources and dates
- planning.data.gov.uk, retrieved
- planning.data.gov.uk, retrieved
- planning.data.gov.uk, retrieved
- data.london.gov.uk, retrieved
- london.gov.uk, retrieved
- legislation.gov.uk, retrieved
- gov.uk, retrieved
- ribblevalley.gov.uk, retrieved
Licences
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
- Contains Historic England data © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
- GLA Planning London Datahub, householder applications. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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.