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Free 2026 London Planning ReportMeasured Building Survey in Ealing Broadway W5

Rear extension drawings for an Edwardian villa in Ealing Broadway W5, London Borough of Ealing
Ealing Broadway · W5 · Ealing

Measured Building Survey in Ealing Broadway W5

Fixed-fee, MCIAT-chartered measured building survey for Ealing Broadway (W5) homeowners — London Borough of Ealing validation and local constraints handled from the start.

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Ealing Broadway (W5) is the heart of 'Queen of the Suburbs' Ealing, and the housing reflects it — substantial Victorian and Edwardian villas climbing the hill north of the Broadway, with mansion flats and larger subdivided houses nearer the station. The scale of these plots means loft conversions, rear extensions and outbuildings are common, but so is the conservation-area control that shapes them.

Three conservation areas meet across the district: Mount Park on the higher ground to the north, Ealing Common to the east and Ealing Green to the south. Which one a property falls in changes what is achievable on the roof and front elevation, so we establish the boundary and the borough's guidance before recommending a permitted-development or full-application route.

Rear extension drawings for an Edwardian villa in Ealing Broadway W5, London Borough of Ealing
Isometric illustration of a Ealing Broadway W5 home measured building survey design
Proposed floor plan
Ealing Broadway W5

Planning in Ealing Broadway (W5): what to know before you apply

W5 carries no borough-wide Article 4 direction affecting typical householder work, so many Ealing Broadway houses retain permitted development rights for rear and loft projects — but the Mount Park, Ealing Common and Ealing Green conservation areas are the significant exceptions, and the generous villa plots mean extensions are judged closely against neighbouring building and garden lines. London Borough of Ealing does not publish an Article 4 schedule to the national open-data register, so we verify the current position with the council before advising.

Typical Ealing Broadway housing stock

Large late-Victorian and Edwardian villas and semi-detached houses on the hill north of the Broadway, many on generous plots, alongside Edwardian mansion flats and subdivided family houses closer to the station.

Streets we regularly draw for in Ealing Broadway

Mount Park Road · Castlebar Road · The Mall · Grange Road · Uxbridge Road

Measured Building Survey for Ealing Broadway (W5) homes: the package and the process

Every measured building survey we prepare for an Ealing Broadway property is drawn to London Borough of Ealing’s validation standards and tuned to the W5 constraints above. Here is what the drawing package covers and how the process runs from first survey to approval.

Every accurate drawing starts with an accurate survey. Before any proposed extension, loft conversion or alteration can be designed, we need to know exactly what already exists — the true dimensions of each room, the position and size of every door and window, floor-to-ceiling heights, wall thicknesses, roof pitches and the exact shape of the plot. A measured building survey captures all of this on site using a laser distance meter, recording existing plans, elevations and sections to millimetre accuracy, rather than relying on old estate agent floor plans, a previous owner's drawings, or rough on-site guesswork.

This matters more than it might seem. A design drawn on top of an inaccurate existing survey can look correct on paper and then not actually fit once a builder is on site — a wall that is 200mm out of position, a ceiling height that is lower than assumed, or a roof pitch that does not match reality can all force a costly redesign mid-build. A fresh, laser-measured survey de-risks that from the outset: the proposed extension, loft conversion or internal alteration is designed against the real dimensions of your home, not an approximation, so what is drawn is what can actually be built.

Why does a planning or building regulations application need a measured survey?

A planning or building regulations application needs to show the existing building accurately alongside the proposed changes, so the council or Building Control can judge the impact of the work against what is actually there. Existing plans, elevations and sections drawn from an accurate measured survey give the borough confidence that the proposal has been designed against real dimensions, and give your builder a reliable set of drawings to price and build from — an application based on inaccurate or assumed dimensions risks queries, delays, or a design that does not translate cleanly on site.

What does a measured building survey capture?

The survey records everything needed to produce accurate existing drawings: internal room dimensions and floor-to-ceiling heights on every level, the position, width and height of every door and window, wall thicknesses, staircase dimensions and headroom, roof shape and pitch, chimney breasts and structural features, and the external footprint and boundary relationship of the property. Where relevant to the project, we also record ground levels, existing drainage runs and neighbouring boundary conditions.

This is captured with a laser distance meter rather than a tape measure, which keeps the survey accurate to within a few millimetres across a whole property and removes the cumulative measuring error that can creep into a hand-measured survey of a larger or more complex building.

What a measured survey feeds into
Output drawingRelies on the measured survey for
Floor plansAccurate room dimensions and layout for sale, letting or lease use
Planning drawingsExisting plans, elevations and sections to compare against the proposal
Building regulations drawingsAccurate existing structure to design technical compliance against
Structural calculationsTrue spans, floor-to-ceiling heights and existing structural elements
FAQ

Measured Building Survey in Ealing Broadway W5 — FAQs

How much does a measured building survey cost?+
A measured building survey starts from £450, or is included as the first stage of a planning, building regulations or architectural drawing package, depending on the size and complexity of the property.
How long does a measured survey take?+
The site visit itself typically takes a few hours depending on the size of the property, with existing drawings produced from the survey data shortly afterwards as the basis for the next stage of your project.
Is a measured survey the same as a floor plan?+
A measured survey is the site data-capture process; floor plans are one of the outputs drawn from it. The same survey can also produce elevations, sections and the existing-layout base drawing for a planning application.
Do I need a measured survey if I am only doing internal work?+
Usually yes if you are removing or altering walls, since accurate existing dimensions and structural features are needed to design and calculate the changes safely, even where no planning application is required.
Can the survey be used for more than one purpose?+
Yes — a single measured survey typically underpins floor plans, planning drawings, building regulations drawings and structural calculations for the same project, so it only needs to be carried out once.
Do I need planning permission for a rear extension in Ealing?+
Many Ealing semis and terraces keep permitted development rights for a single-storey rear extension, so a full application isn't always needed. But the borough-wide Article 4 direction on HMO conversions, and conservation areas such as Bedford Park and Pitshanger, remove or restrict those rights in places. We check your address against the designations first and, where it qualifies, confirm permitted development with a Lawful Development Certificate.
What extra control applies in Bedford Park?+
Bedford Park is one of West London's most tightly controlled conservation areas, with detailed control over materials, rooflines, windows and front elevations. A standard permitted-development dormer or cladding change usually won't apply; instead we design to the area's Arts-and-Crafts character and prepare a full householder application with the elevations and materials the council expects — the reliable route to approval there.
How long does Ealing Council take to decide a householder application?+
Ealing determines most householder applications within the statutory eight-week period once they are validated. The commonest cause of delay is a validation query over missing or inconsistent drawings, so we prepare Ealing submissions to the council's validation checklist — correctly scaled existing and proposed plans, elevations and a location plan — to avoid that back-and-forth.
Can you help with a loft conversion on a 1930s Ealing semi?+
Yes. Ealing's Metro-land semis in Perivale, Greenford and Northolt suit hip-to-gable and dormer loft conversions, which frequently qualify as permitted development on semi-detached homes within the volume limits. We confirm eligibility against those limits and any Article 4 or conservation constraint, then produce the planning and building-regulations drawings.
How much do planning drawings cost in Ealing?+
We work to a fixed fee agreed before we start, typically around 30% below an architect's charge for the same council-accepted drawings, with free redraws until Ealing grants approval. The exact figure depends on the project — a single-storey rear extension differs from a double-storey or a loft — so we quote once we understand your scheme rather than on an open-ended hourly basis.
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