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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.

01Kingston upon Thames, London

Basement conversion drawings in Kingston upon Thames

A basement in Kingston upon Thames is tested on its light wells, its construction method and flood risk. The council's design guidance keeps light wells to one storey underground and asks for a Construction Method Statement, so the drawings are built around those tests, from £1,995 including VAT.

From £1,995 (VAT included)

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    02The brief

    Kingston's basement guidance in short

    The council's Residential Design SPD deals with basements in a few lines. Light wells should not exceed one storey underground, a Construction Method Statement is required, and a Flood Risk Assessment is added in the higher flood zones. The survey then decides how much room the site gives.

    Our data records no further basement standard in that document. The plan behind it is the Core Strategy (with Kingston Town Centre Area Action Plan 2008), adopted in 2012. A basement goes in as a householder application, and the council charges £548 for that application.

    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 Kingston upon Thames

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Basement light wells should not exceed one storey underground; a Construction Method Statement is required, and a Flood Risk Assessment in Flood Zones 2 and 3.one storeyNo periodkingston.gov.uk, Residential Design SPD 2013, p.94, Policy Guidance 43
    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
    Party Wall etc. Act 1996 s5, s6(7)A dispute arises if the adjoining owner does not consent within 14 days of the noticeNo 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
    Conservation areas28 named conservation areas published by the councilNo periodplanning.data.gov.uk
    Article 4 directions3 Article 4 directions published by the councilNo periodplanning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries163 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)No periodplanning.data.gov.uk
    Scheduled monuments6 scheduled monuments intersecting the LPA boundary (Historic England)No periodplanning.data.gov.uk
    Green Belt share of the council area17 % of council area covered by green-belt polygonsNo periodplanning.data.gov.uk
    Domestic gardens share of land (GLUD 2005)30.9 % of land that is domestic garden (GLUD 2005)2005data.london.gov.uk

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

    Kingston upon Thames7 neighbouring councils
    Councils bordering Kingston upon Thames

    04The drawing

    A basement in sectionA, Kingston upon Thames: excavation depth: one storey. 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 Kingston upon Thames: excavation depth
    one storey
    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.

    05The detail

    Garden land, trees and the Green Belt

    Domestic gardens cover 30.9% of the borough's land (GLA land-use data), and the council maps 7,145 tree preservation zones. Our measured survey records trees, levels, boundaries and drains before any excavation line is drawn.

    Green Belt covers 17% of the borough. We confirm whether the designation touches your address in the free constraints check.

    Light wells, flood zones and the house next door

    Because the guidance stops light wells at one storey underground, the section through the boundary has a fixed limit to be drawn against, and the same section shows how far the pit sits from the neighbour's foundations. 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. A dispute arises if the adjoining owner does not consent within 14 days of the notice.

    Where the address sits in a higher flood risk zone, the Flood Risk Assessment and the escape route have to agree, since the opening that serves a habitable basement is also where water could enter. The Building Regulations test is plain: Basement storeys with habitable rooms need an escape window or external door, or a protected stair to a final exit.

    Listed houses, conservation areas and Kingston Hill

    Kingston upon Thames has 28 conservation areas, 3 Article 4 directions, 163 list entries and 6 scheduled monuments. Counts for a whole borough say little about one street, so the constraints check names the designations that touch your address before the first option is drawn. Digging under a listed house needs consent as well as permission: see listed building consent drawings in Kingston upon Thames.

    A new roof storey on the same house follows the route in mansard roof drawings in Kingston upon Thames. Houses up the hill are covered in architectural drawings on Kingston Hill, and the basement conversion drawings hub sets out the steps common to every borough.

    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.

    06The 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.

    07Correspondence

    Questions

    Is there a depth limit for a Kingston basement?

    The guidance we hold limits light wells to one storey underground and requires a Construction Method Statement. It does not state a depth cap for the basement rooms themselves, so we draw the light wells inside that limit and confirm the council's view on overall depth before the design is fixed.

    Does the flood zone change what I submit?

    In the higher flood risk zones the guidance adds a Flood Risk Assessment to the Construction Method Statement. The free constraints check places your address in its zone before you commit.

    Will next door have to be told about the dig?

    Often, when the excavation is close to a neighbour's foundations. We prepare the party wall notice drawings, priced per adjoining owner.

    What do the drawings cost, and what does the council charge?

    Our fixed fee starts at £1,995 including VAT for the surveyed and proposed drawings. The council bills its application fee on its own.

    Rows of brick terraced houses and gardens on a residential street

    17%

    of council area covered by green-belt polygons

    Green Belt share of the council area, Kingston upon Thames. Source: planning.data.gov.uk

    Photograph: Altaf Shah

    08Further reading

    Other services in Kingston upon Thames

    Basement conversion drawings nearby

    09Sources

    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 Kingston upon Thames