Garden offices · Orpington
Garden offices in Orpington
Petts Wood, Chislehurst and Keston.
A door that closes, a short walk from the kitchen. KFCRAFTS LIMITED is registered at 48 Spring Shaw Road, Orpington: this is our own town.
OrpingtonPetts WoodChislehurstKestonBromley
What we build here
An office, or a room that works as one.
Most garden offices are garden rooms drawn around a desk, the light and the storage.
Planning in Orpington
Usually permitted development. The exceptions are local.
Council: London Borough of Bromley (opens in a new tab). Each note is a first answer, not the final word: we confirm it for your exact address before you sign anything.
- A garden building is usually permitted development, with no application, when it is single storey, is used for something that goes with the house (an office, a studio, a gym), stands behind the front of the house and, with other buildings, covers no more than half the garden. Within 2 m of a boundary it can be no taller than 2.5 m.
- A room you work in yourself goes with the house. If clients or staff will come to work there, tell us at the start: a business run from the garden can need planning permission.
- Petts Wood and The Knoll are two of Bromley’s Areas of Special Residential Character, and Chelsfield Park is another. There, new building should respect the area’s character (Local Plan Policy 44), which can shape the design even where no application is needed.
- In a conservation area nothing can go between the side of the house and the boundary without an application, and tree work needs 6 weeks’ notice to the council. Petts Wood has the Station Square conservation area.
- About half of the borough is green belt, mostly to the south and east. It does not remove permitted development for a garden building, but where an application is needed the council applies green belt policy.
Householder applications decided 1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026: MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2 (opens gov.uk in a new tab) (Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). Decisions under an agreed extension of time have no time band in the table; we count them at 8–13 weeks.
Before we draw
Start with your postcode.
Enter your postcode and the address check shows what the national planning data holds for it: conservation areas, listed buildings, flood zones and more. If anything there changes the route, we tell you in writing before you sign.
Built by KF CraftsQuestions
Asked in Orpington.
Does a garden office in Orpington need planning permission?
Usually not. An office you use yourself is permitted development within the national limits: single storey, behind the front of the house, 2.5 m high within 2 m of a boundary, and no more than half the garden covered. A conservation area, a listed house or an Article 4 direction can change that, so we check your address first.
Should I get a Lawful Development Certificate?
You don’t have to. It is the council’s formal confirmation that the building is lawful, and it is worth having where there is room for doubt, or for when you sell. How planning works.
Clients will visit me. Does that matter?
It can. A room you work in yourself goes with the house; visitors or staff coming to work there can make it a business use that needs planning permission. Tell us at the start and we check it with you.
Sources
Where these notes come from.
- London Borough of Bromley: Bromley Local Plan, January 2019 (Policy 44, Appendix 10.6) (opens in a new tab)
- Companies House: KFCRAFTS LIMITED, 13750347 (registered office) (opens in a new tab)
- Planning Portal: outbuildings and planning permission (opens in a new tab)
- GOV.UK: permitted development rights for householders, technical guidance (opens in a new tab)
Checked 19 October 2026. Rules change: we check them again for your address. More areas: Areas we cover · Garden offices
Nearby
Other local guides.
Garden annexes in Bromley
Bromley, Beckenham and Chislehurst: annexes, planning and the borough’s special residential areas.
Garden rooms in Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks, Westerham and Otford: green belt, the Kent Downs and what they change.
Garden rooms in Dulwich
Dulwich Village, East and West Dulwich: the council, the Dulwich Estate and conservation areas.
Garden rooms in Blackheath and Greenwich
Blackheath, Greenwich and Lewisham: the World Heritage Site, conservation areas and Article 4.
Garden rooms in Oxted, Surrey
Oxted and Limpsfield in Surrey: green belt, the Surrey Hills and Tandridge’s decision times.
Made to measure
Draw your office in 3D.
Choose the size, the glass and the cladding, then send the design to us with your postcode.
Or talk to us: Ivan, 07389 840483 · Hristiyan, 07934 524074 · WhatsApp Hristiyan (opens WhatsApp)