Most homeowners in Greenwich think of planning permission as a single fee. Pay it, wait eight weeks, get an answer. The reality is considerably more complicated — and until you see what applies to your exact address in about a minute, free, you're working with an incomplete picture.
The short version
- The householder application fee in Greenwich is £548, but that's often just the starting point
- Maritime Greenwich's UNESCO World Heritage Site status changes the rules for many nearby properties
- Conservation areas, listed buildings, and flood zones can each add cost, delay, or outright restriction
The £548 figure doesn't tell the whole story
Yes, the standard householder planning application fee in Greenwich is £548. That covers the local authority's processing cost. What it doesn't cover: pre-application advice (which Greenwich often recommends for complex sites), drawings and plans from an architect or planning consultant, structural or heritage reports that may be required, and any appeal costs if your application is refused.
Most homeowners don't realise how quickly those additional costs stack up — or that some of them aren't optional depending on where you live.
Where you live in Greenwich changes everything
Greenwich is unusually complex for a London borough. The UNESCO World Heritage Site at Maritime Greenwich isn't just a tourist designation — it triggers Article 2(3) rules that effectively tighten what you can do under permitted development near the site. That affects properties across SE10 and parts of SE3 in ways most residents have never heard of.
Then there are the conservation areas. Blackheath, Charlton Village, and Eltham each carry their own restrictions, and they don't all work the same way. A rear extension that's straightforward in Eltham might require full planning permission — and a heritage report — in Blackheath.
The Royal Naval College and Greenwich Park areas have some of the densest concentrations of listed buildings in outer London. If your property is listed, or even adjacent to one, the cost and complexity of any application rises significantly. And if you're on the Thames frontage, flood zone considerations add another layer entirely.
Don't assume permitted development applies
Even if your neighbours extended without applying for permission, that doesn't mean you can. Article 4 directions, the WHS buffer, and listed building adjacency can all remove permitted development rights that would otherwise apply — often street by street.
The hidden cost of getting it wrong
A refused application isn't just a setback — you've paid the fee, potentially paid for professional drawings, and lost weeks. A second application means paying again. An appeal extends your timeline by months.
This is why approval odds matter as much as the fee itself. The best way to understand your real risk is to check what similar projects near your street have actually been approved or refused for — that tells you far more than the fee schedule ever could.
The difference between knowing you're in a conservation area and knowing what that conservation area designation has historically meant for loft conversions or rear extensions on your specific road is enormous. One is information. The other is the basis for a decision.
So what will it actually cost?
For a straightforward householder application with no complications: £548 in fees, plus professional drawing costs that typically range from a few hundred to over a thousand pounds depending on complexity.
For a property near Maritime Greenwich's WHS, in a conservation area, or adjacent to a listed building: expect additional consultant fees for heritage statements, pre-application advice charges, and the real possibility of a second application if the first is refused.
The best way to understand what your specific property is likely to face — and what's actually been approved nearby — is with WhatCanIBuild. You can see the approval record for your street and what it means for your project's odds, free, no signup needed.
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