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Slate-clad roof extension on a yellow-brick London terraced house
Photograph: Daniel Sikpi

01Richmond upon Thames, London

Mansard roof drawings for Richmond upon Thames houses

The Richmond guidance we hold names roof extensions and dormers, not mansards, so a mansard is judged against those tests street by street, with 85 conservation areas behind them. Our chartered architectural technologists (MCIAT) draw the new roof against both neighbours from £845 including VAT.

From £845 (VAT included)

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

    02The brief

    The roof rules Richmond writes down

    The House Extensions and External Alterations SPD is where the roof tests live. For the front of a house its line is to avoid front roof extensions, and on the ridge the rule is blunt: no ridge raising. Dormers are to be set well in from sides and eaves, leaving roof below and on either side.

    A mansard swaps the pitched slope for a near-vertical one, so ridge height and eaves line decide the case. On the permitted development side, Class B requires the original eaves to be maintained or reinstated, which a parapet-fronted mansard normally removes. Planning permission is therefore the route, with the council's householder fee of £548 paid separately from ours.

    Rear view of brick terraced houses in London with slate roofs and chimney stacks along the shared roofline
    Brick cottage with a tiled roof, chimneys and a front dormer window
    Photograph: Tanya Barrow

    03The record

    Local figures for Richmond upon Thames

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Roof extensions including dormers to front of house undesirable, especially over gabled bays or where uncharacteristicavoid front roof extensionsNo periodrichmond.gov.uk, House Extensions and External Alterations SPD (adopted June 2015), section 8.1.1
    Raising the ridge normally unacceptable; dormers must not project above ridgelineno ridge raisingNo periodrichmond.gov.uk, House Extensions and External Alterations SPD (adopted June 2015), section 8.1.1
    Dormers must not dominate; leave significant roof area below and either side; two small dormers may suit better than one largeset well in from sides and eavesNo periodrichmond.gov.uk, House Extensions and External Alterations SPD (adopted June 2015), section 8.1.1
    Supplementary planning documentHouse Extensions and External Alterations SPD2015richmond.gov.uk
    Class B, condition B.2(b)(i)(aa)Class B requires the original eaves to be maintained or reinstated, which a parapet-fronted mansard normally removesNo periodlegislation.gov.uk
    Class AA, para AA.1(b)Class AA is not available on article 2(3) landNo periodlegislation.gov.uk
    Householder: alterations/extensions to a single dwellinghouse, from 1 Apr 2026548 GBPNo periodribblevalley.gov.uk
    Approved Document B Vol 1, para 2.21New storey above 4.5 m by loft conversion: protect the full escape route with fire-resisting doors (min E 20) and partitions (min REI 30)No periodgov.uk
    Conservation areas85 named conservation areas published by the councilNo periodplanning.data.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted83.3 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk

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

    Richmond upon Thames6 neighbouring councils
    Councils bordering Richmond upon Thames

    04The streets

    Householder applications by street in Richmond upon Thames

    Streets in Richmond upon Thames with the most householder applications, and the share approved
    StreetApplicationsApproved
    Waverley Avenue4072%
    Castelnau3981%
    Lyndhurst Avenue2883%
    Lincoln Avenue2687%
    Cole Park Road2583%
    Redway Drive2583%
    Sheen Road2565%
    Ormond Crescent2381%
    Ullswater Road2385%
    Gladstone Avenue2264%
    Madrid Road2280%
    The Vineyard2280%
    Haliburton Road21100%
    Houblon Road2190%
    Cleveland Gardens2083%

    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 mansard roof in sectionA, Permitted development and the eaves: Class B requires the original eaves to be maintained or reinstated, which a parapet-fronted mansard normally removes. B, Additional storeys under permitted development: Class AA additional storeys exclude houses built before 1 Jul 1948 or after 28 Oct 2018. C, Fire protection to the stair: New storey above 4.5 m by loft conversion: protect the full escape route with fire-resisting doors (min E 20) and partitions (min REI 30)ABC

    A mansard roof in section

    A London terrace with a mansard behind the parapet. The lettered marks show the limits the legend gives.

    A Permitted development and the eaves
    Class B requires the original eaves to be maintained or reinstated, which a parapet-fronted mansard normally removes
    B Additional storeys under permitted development
    Class AA additional storeys exclude houses built before 1 Jul 1948 or after 28 Oct 2018
    C Fire protection to the stair
    New storey above 4.5 m by loft conversion: protect the full escape route with fire-resisting doors (min E 20) and partitions (min REI 30)
    The mansard in three dimensions3D
    Scroll the page: the model turns with it.

    06The detail

    Roof coverings, the Hill view and conservation areas

    The appraisals add tests of material and view. For Kew Green the council states: Original clay roof tiles should be retained and repaired like for like; concrete tiles and imitation slates avoided. The drawing therefore names the covering of the new roof as well as its shape.

    On Richmond Hill the view is protected by statute. The council's Richmond Hill appraisal states that the hill offers the only view in England protected by an Act of Parliament, the Richmond, Ham and Petersham Open Spaces Act 1902. A roof change there is worth testing against that view before the plans are finished, and the Richmond Hill and town guide lists the designations around it.

    Upward extensions and listed roofs

    Class AA is not available on article 2(3) land, and that land includes conservation areas, so a mansard in one of the borough's 85 needs a householder application. Historic England records 819 list entries here, and a listed house adds consent on top: see listed building consent drawings for Richmond upon Thames.

    The householder caseload runs to 1,302 decisions, of which 83.3% were grants and 98.3% were on time. Those are past figures for all householder work, not a forecast for a roof.

    What the drawing set shows

    Existing and proposed roof plans, sections and elevations on one surveyed datum, with both neighbours' rooflines drawn alongside so the officer sees the new storey in the terrace. The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 sets the timing for a party structure notice: Party structure notice at least 2 months before work.

    The set also shows the escape route required by Approved Document B and the stair headroom the loft allows. Redraws are free until approval, and a second chartered technologist checks the set before it is submitted.

    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

    Converted loft bedroom with roof windows and a Juliet balconyLoft conversions
    Photograph: Imad Clicks
    Loft floor plan marked up in an independent review, with three critical issues clouded and explained
    Sample drawing. A loft plan with the reviewer’s mark-up: stair pitch, dormer cheeks and roof ventilation.

    08Correspondence

    Questions

    Does Richmond upon Thames allow a mansard roof?

    The guidance we hold does not mention mansards by name. It asks officers to avoid front roof extensions and says no ridge raising, so we read the roofline of your street first and tell you in the free constraints check what it allows.

    Is a dormer an alternative to a mansard in Richmond?

    It is the form the council's roof guidance is written around, since it asks for dormers that are set well in from sides and eaves. Whether a dormer gives you the headroom you need is a design question, so we can model both.

    What does a mansard drawing set cost in Richmond?

    Our fixed fee starts at £845 including VAT. The council's householder application fee is separate, at £548.

    Upper floors of a large yellow-brick Victorian house in London with chimney pots

    83.3%

    Householder applications granted, Richmond upon Thames, 1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026. Source: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk

    Photograph: Lorenc Memaga

    09Further reading

    Other services in Richmond upon Thames

    Mansard roof 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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    Mansard roof drawings in Richmond upon Thames