01Newham, London
Basement conversion drawings in Newham
A basement under a garden needs soil above it, and Newham has less garden to give: domestic gardens cover 16.9% of its land in the GLA data. Our data holds no Newham basement limit, so we draw to national tests and the house's own constraints, from £1,995.
From £1,995 (VAT included)
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02The brief
What Newham does and does not say about basements
Our records hold no basement-specific rule for Newham, and we do not invent one. The council's home-extension guidance is the Altering and Extending your Home SPD, and the borough's plan is the Newham Local Plan 2018. We read both for your street, but we do not claim they set a depth or garden limit.
National and London-wide material fills the gap. The London Plan leaves large basements to the boroughs where they are a local issue, so a large design is best tested with the council early. We say so in the quote when a design is that large. Redbridge, by contrast, writes its limits down; its approach is set out in basement conversion drawings in Redbridge.
03The record
Local figures for Newham
| Measure | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic gardens share of land (GLUD 2005) | 16.9 % of land that is domestic garden (GLUD 2005) | 2005 | data.london.gov.uk |
| Supplementary planning document | Altering and Extending your Home SPD | 2018 | newham.gov.uk |
| Local plan | Newham Local Plan 2018 | No period | newham.gov.uk |
| Conservation areas | 9 named conservation areas published by the council | No period | planning.data.gov.uk |
| Listed building entries | 125 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary) | No period | planning.data.gov.uk |
| Households living in a house | 47.1 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced) | Census 2021 | nomisweb.co.uk |
| Householder applications granted | 86.9 % | 1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026 | assets.publishing.service.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 |
| 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 |
| 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 Newham
| Street | Applications | Approved |
|---|---|---|
| Hampton Road | 40 | 77% |
| Osborne Road | 34 | 97% |
| Claremont Road | 23 | 65% |
| Capel Road | 19 | 88% |
| Windsor Road | 18 | 63% |
| Field Road | 15 | 80% |
| Sherrard Road | 15 | 86% |
| Latimer Road | 14 | 79% |
| Monega Road | 14 | 86% |
| Sidney Road | 14 | 92% |
| South Esk Road | 14 | 79% |
| Lonsdale Avenue | 13 | 83% |
| Kensington Avenue | 12 | 60% |
| Tennyson Road | 12 | 82% |
| Bristol Road | 11 | 70% |
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
Garden space and what sits above a basement
A basement that extends under the garden leaves a roof that must carry soil, planting and drainage. With gardens covering 16.9% of Newham's land, we measure the garden exactly and show the basement footprint against it.
Flood risk and trees also shape the design, and we check both in the constraints check before the first option.
Neighbouring flats, shared walls and a below-ground exit
Only 47.1% of Newham households live in a house or bungalow, so the neighbour of a basement scheme may be a flat as well as a house. 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 garden is short, the exit is planned before the room is. 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.
Heritage on the street above
Newham publishes 9 conservation areas, and Historic England records 125 list entries in the borough. A basement under a listed house needs consent as well as permission; see listed building consent drawings in Newham. Newham's Article 4 direction on HMO conversions (C3 to C4) concerns use, not digging.
Newham decided 388 householder applications in the latest return, with 86.9% granted. A householder application to the council costs £548. If the house also needs a new roof storey, that is covered in mansard roof drawings in Newham, and the steps every borough shares are on the basement conversion drawings hub.
07The papers
What the drawings rest on
Structural calculations
08Correspondence
Questions
Is there a depth or garden limit for a basement in Newham?
Our data records none, so we quote none. We confirm the council's current view with it before the design is fixed, because the London Plan leaves large basements to each borough.
Will my neighbour have to agree?
A notice is needed when the dig falls inside the party wall distances. A dispute arises if the adjoining owner does not consent within 14 days of the notice. Where the building next door is a flat, the adjoining owners can include the freeholder as well as the leaseholder who lives there, so we establish who they are before the notice drawings are made.
How is a basement priced?
From £1,995 including VAT, fixed up front, with structural calculations coordinated. Council fees are paid separately.
86.9%
Householder applications granted, Newham, 1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026. Source: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
09Further reading
Related pages
Other services in Newham
10Sources
Sources and dates
- data.london.gov.uk, retrieved
- newham.gov.uk, retrieved
- newham.gov.uk, retrieved
- planning.data.gov.uk, retrieved
- planning.data.gov.uk, retrieved
- nomisweb.co.uk, retrieved
- assets.publishing.service.gov.uk, retrieved
- legislation.gov.uk, retrieved
- gov.uk, retrieved
- london.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.