Planning permission in Lewisham starts with a £258 householder application fee. But if that's the only number you're planning around, you're probably underestimating what this is actually going to cost you. The real figure depends on factors tied to your specific property — and most homeowners don't realise how many variables there are until they're already mid-project. WhatCanIBuild exists precisely because that complexity is almost impossible to untangle without looking at your actual address.
The short version
- The standard householder application fee in Lewisham is £258
- A £75.83 +VAT service charge applies to online applications above £100
- Your total costs could be significantly higher depending on your property and project type
- Lewisham has over 25 conservation areas — your street may be in one
The base fee is only part of the picture
The £258 covers the council's fee for considering your application. Then there's the Planning Portal service charge: £75.83 +VAT on top of that for online submissions. That's already over £350 before you've paid for anyone to help you put the application together.
And that's assuming you submit once, correctly, and it's determined. If your application is withdrawn before a decision — for any reason — the fee is non-refundable. If you get the fee wrong, your application is delayed. These aren't edge cases. They happen regularly to homeowners who assumed the process was straightforward.
Lewisham isn't a uniform borough
This is where it gets complicated fast. Lewisham has over 25 conservation areas. Article 4 directions apply in parts of the borough — particularly around Blackheath and Ladywell — which can remove permitted development rights that homeowners in other streets take for granted. Listed buildings sit under a completely different consent regime with no application fee, but significant other costs.
What does that mean for your project? It depends on your property. The same extension that sails through on one street might require additional reports, specialist surveys, or a heritage statement on another. The costs attached to those requirements don't show up in the standard fee schedule — but they absolutely show up in your budget.
Worth knowing
For listed buildings and relevant demolition in conservation areas, no planning application fee is required — but the process itself is often more involved and more expensive overall.
What most homeowners get wrong about cost
They calculate the fee. They don't calculate the risk.
If your application is refused, you'll likely need to resubmit — another fee, more time, possibly professional help you didn't budget for. The question isn't just "how much does it cost to apply?" It's "how likely is my application to succeed, and what happens if it doesn't?"
That's the part that varies most dramatically between properties in Lewisham. Two houses on the same road can have very different planning histories, different constraints, and very different odds of getting a similar project approved. Most homeowners don't know which category their property falls into until it's too late.
The best way to understand what your specific property is dealing with — including what's been approved and refused nearby, and what that means for your project's chances — is to check with WhatCanIBuild. It looks at your actual address, not just general rules.
Before you budget, check what you're actually dealing with
The £258 is a starting point. What you actually spend depends on how many attempts it takes, what professional support you need, and whether your property has constraints that change the nature of the application entirely. WhatCanIBuild pulls together the planning intelligence for your specific address — approval patterns, local constraints, nearby decisions — so you're not budgeting blind.
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