Planning in Wandsworth

Before submission

Validation requirements

Wandsworth Council's July 2026 Local Validation Checklist outlines mandatory information required for planning applications to increase certainty for applicants. The document serves as the formal register of requirements, which are requested proportionally based on the scale, nature, and location of the proposed development.

• Applicants must submit a Planning Statement for all full and outline planning applications to assess policy compliance.
• Major applications require a Fire Safety Statement, and all developments must include a Fire Safety Strategy unless an exemption applies for smaller schemes.
• All major applications require an Air Quality Impact Assessment due to the borough-wide Air Quality Management Area declaration.
• Applications for new buildings or extensions creating 100sqm of floorspace or a new dwelling must complete an information form for the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).

SourceWandsworth — application requirements(opens in a new tab)· checked 2026-10-07

Timescales

Realistic decision times

Statutory target

The national determination period set in law, counted from validation. A target, not a guarantee.

Actual processing time

What the council's published performance data shows in practice, including extensions of time.

Allow for validation before the decision period starts. The usual statutory determination periods in England are 8 weeks for non-major applications, 13 weeks for major development and 16 weeks where environmental impact assessment is required, unless a different period is agreed.

• These are statutory targets, not a measured borough average or a guarantee. No current borough-specific average has been verified for this guide.
• An incomplete submission, amendments, committee referral or an agreed extension of time can extend the overall programme.
• Ask the planning team about its current validation queue before setting a construction date. Prior approval and other specialist applications can have different statutory periods.

SourceGOV.UK — determining a planning application(opens in a new tab)· checked 2026-10-07

Permitted development

Article 4 restrictions

These are selected directions, not an exhaustive address search. Read the council’s current map, schedule, commencement date and any later modifications for your property. A conservation area is not automatically an Article 4 area, and a direction affecting changes of use does not necessarily restrict a home extension. Confirm the responsible planning authority too: some development-corporation areas have separate arrangements.

Article 4 Directions in Wandsworth restrict specific permitted development rights to protect local amenity, requiring planning permission for works that would otherwise be exempt. These directions do not forbid development but mandate Council oversight before works proceed.

• Conservation areas subject to Article 4(2) directions include Dover House Estate, Heaver Estate, Latchmere Estate, Putney Lower Common, Roehampton Village, Shaftesbury Park Estate, Totterdown Fields Estate, and Wandsworth Common.
• Separate directions address particular commercial-to-residential changes and public houses. Check the live direction and map rather than relying on historical use-class names.
• Directions in conservation areas specifically limit works to the exterior of dwellings to protect character.

SourceWandsworth — Article 4 information(opens in a new tab)· checked 2026-10-07