Side extensions in Woking depend on the house. Typical homes here: Edwardian and inter-war semi-detached and detached houses in Horsell, Maybury and West Byfleet; Large detached houses on generous, often wooded plots on Hook Heath and in Pyrford. Designations to check first: Green Belt; Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area; Conservation areas. Applications are decided by Woking Borough Council and the Woking Core Strategy 2012 and Site Allocations DPD 2021.
The permitted development rules for side extensions
A single-storey side extension is permitted development on a house if it is no wider than half the width of the original house, no higher than 4 m, with eaves no higher than 3 m where it comes within 2 m of a boundary, and finished in materials similar in appearance to the house.
Anything wider than half the original house, any two-storey side extension, and any side extension on a flat needs planning permission. Garage conversions that keep the walls are usually permitted development; extending beyond them is assessed as a side extension.
What changes in Woking
Side extensions are not permitted development in a conservation area at all, so there a planning application is always required.
The local constraints that most often decide the route in Woking are listed below, taken from our Woking area page. Each one is a reason to confirm the address on Woking's constraints map before relying on permitted development.
- Green Belt. Green Belt surrounds Woking's urban area, taking in land around Horsell Common, Hook Heath, Pyrford, Byfleet, Brookwood and Mayford. Source
- Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area. Horsell Common and the heathland to the north and west of the borough form part of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area. Source
- Conservation areas. Woking's conservation areas include parts of Horsell, Hook Heath, Byfleet, Pyrford and Brookwood Cemetery. Source
- Article 4 directions. Some areas of the borough have Article 4 directions that remove particular permitted development rights, typically for front alterations, roof works or boundary changes in sensitive residential areas. Source
- Basingstoke Canal, River Wey and Bourne flood risk. The Basingstoke Canal runs through the middle of the borough, the River Wey forms the eastern edge through Byfleet and Pyrford, and the Bourne and Hoe Stream cross the west and south. Source
- Listed buildings. Pyrford, Byfleet, Horsell and Old Woking contain listed houses, churches and farm buildings, and Brookwood Cemetery has many listed structures. Source
What Woking planning officers look for
Woking Borough Council officers assess householder applications against the Core Strategy, the Development Management Policies DPD and the council's supplementary guidance on residential extensions. On the semis in Horsell, Maybury, Knaphill and Byfleet they tend to look for two-storey side extensions set back from the front wall and below the main ridge, a gap kept to the side boundary so the pair does not read as a terrace, and rear extensions that pass the 45-degree test to the neighbour's nearest habitable window. In the Green Belt officers usually measure the extension against the original dwelling by floorspace or volume and treat outbuildings more strictly. Common refusal reasons are full-width box dormers, side extensions that create a terracing effect, and disproportionate additions in the Green Belt.
Fees and timelines
Woking decides a householder application or a Lawful Development Certificate within 8 weeks of validation. The council fee is £528 for a householder application and £264 for a Lawful Development Certificate (England, from 1 April 2025; verify before applying).
Our own fee is fixed once quoted. The quote tool gives an indicative figure in minutes and a written quote follows within 24 hours.
Primary sources
- The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 2: the permitted development limits quoted above.
- Planning Portal: do you need permission: the national guidance and the application service every council accepts.
- Woking Borough Council: planning: the council's own constraints map, validation checklist and pre-application service.
