Call 020 7864 7245Request a fixed quote
Bright finished basement room with a glass-balustrade staircase, high windows and a built-in desk
Photograph: Point3D Commercial Imaging Ltd.

01Haringey, London

Basement conversion drawings in Haringey

Haringey judges a basement by what its lightwell takes from the front of the house, not only by how deep it goes. We draw the lightwell, the garden above and the party wall position together, from £1,995 with VAT included.

From £1,995 (VAT included)

  • MCIAT chartered architectural technologists
  • £2m professional indemnity insurance
  • LABC Partnered
  • ICO registered

Fixed fee, VAT included

Ask for a fixed fee

Photographs or current plans (optional)

Drag files here or browse your device

Up to 10 files, 90 MB in total: PDF, JPG, PNG or DWG

    Write to us before 3pm and we reply the same working day. Redraws are free until approval.

    02The brief

    Haringey tests the lightwell

    Haringey's Development Management DPD looks at the front first. A lightwell is assessed on whether it would lose more than 50% of the front garden or amenity area. The same policy also asks that a basement does not affect structural stability or increase flood risk, and that it leaves adequate soil depth under gardens.

    We therefore fix the lightwell size at the first design option and show the share of front garden it takes, so the officer does not have to measure it.

    Brick house being extended, with a wide new opening supported over the ground floor
    Georgian brick terrace with sash windows, arched fanlight doorways, stone steps and iron railings in London
    Photograph: Lorenc Memaga

    03The record

    Local figures for Haringey

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Light wells are assessed on whether they would lose more than 50% of the front garden or amenity area (Policy DM18 C).50%No periodharingey.gov.uk, Development Management DPD 2017, p.38, Policy DM18 C(c)
    Conservation areas33 named conservation areas published by the councilNo periodplanning.data.gov.uk
    Article 4 directions25 Article 4 directions published by the councilNo periodplanning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries289 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)No periodplanning.data.gov.uk
    Domestic gardens share of land (GLUD 2005)26.6 % of land that is domestic garden (GLUD 2005)2005data.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 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
    Householder: alterations/extensions to a single dwellinghouse, from 1 Apr 2026548 GBPNo periodribblevalley.gov.uk

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

    Haringey6 neighbouring councils
    Councils bordering Haringey

    04The streets

    Householder applications by street in Haringey

    Streets in Haringey with the most householder applications, and the share approved
    StreetApplicationsApproved
    Sheldon Avenue2065%
    Gladesmore Road1788%
    Stapleton Hall Road1382%
    Boundary Road12100%
    Cholmeley Park1278%
    Craven Park Road12100%
    Seaford Road1282%
    Wargrave Avenue1282%
    Woodside Avenue1291%
    Beresford Road11100%
    Fairview Road10100%
    Onslow Gardens10100%
    Priory Gardens1090%
    Allison Road9100%
    Dukes Avenue978%

    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, Haringey: depth and garden share: 50%. B, 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. C, Escape from basement rooms: Basement storeys with habitable rooms need an escape window or external door, or a protected stair to a final exitABC

    A basement in section

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

    A Haringey: depth and garden share
    50%
    B 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
    C 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

    Front gardens in Muswell Hill and Highgate

    The Muswell Hill appraisal is blunt about front gardens. Removing front walls and paving front gardens for parking is the most harmful change, especially on narrow uniform frontages. A lightwell cuts into the same strip. Our Muswell Hill guide sets out the appraisal in full.

    Highgate adds a boundary question. Highgate village is divided between Haringey and Camden, and each council has its own Highgate Conservation Area; Haringey's southern boundary runs along the middle of Highgate High Street. See the Highgate guide. Behind the house, the GLA's GLUD land-use survey, dated in the table below, put domestic gardens at 26.6% of the borough's land.

    Heritage layers before the dig

    Haringey designates 33 conservation areas, keeps an Article 4 register of 25 directions and has 289 list entries. We check each before a survey is booked. A listed house needs consent for a basement as well as permission for it: see listed building consent drawings in Haringey.

    A roof storey over the same house is a separate job, covered by mansard roof drawings in Haringey.

    Hillside terraces, shared walls and the way out

    Houses in Muswell Hill and Highgate often stand on sloping ground in tight terraces, so a basement can run beside a neighbour's foundations set at a different level. 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. We mark both foundation levels on the section so the neighbour's surveyor can see the difference.

    A dispute arises if the adjoining owner does not consent within 14 days of the notice. The rooms below then follow Building Regulations: 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. The application itself costs £548 at householder rate.

    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

    Rear view of brick terraced houses in London with slate roofs and chimney stacks along the shared rooflineParty wall services
    Photograph: Ben Hadfield
    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 big can a Haringey lightwell be?

    The council asks whether it would lose more than 50% of the front garden or amenity area. We measure the garden at survey and size the lightwell against that test.

    Does a Haringey basement mean serving notices on neighbours?

    If the excavation falls within the Act's distances, yes: 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. On sloping streets we mark the neighbour's foundation level on the drawing. Notices through our party wall service start at £45 for each adjoining owner.

    Can I add a basement to a listed house in Highgate?

    Possibly, but it needs listed building consent as well as planning permission, and the two must agree. Highgate also has two councils: Highgate village is divided between Haringey and Camden, and each council has its own Highgate Conservation Area; Haringey's southern boundary runs along the middle of Highgate High Street.

    Rows of brick terraced houses and gardens on a residential street

    26.6%

    of land that is domestic garden (GLUD 2005)

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

    Photograph: Altaf Shah

    09Further reading

    Other services in Haringey

    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.

    Ask for a fixed feeCall 020 7864 7245WhatsApp
    Basement conversion drawings in Haringey