Add space and value to your property

Having an extension built on your property is a great way to make your home bigger and better, and if you do it right, it can also add value and appeal to your home when it is time to sell.

Depending on the layout of your home, and providing that the new layout complies with Building Regulations, a ground floor extension can be turned into almost anything that you desire. Typical extensions can be larger kitchens, dining areas, additional living space, a home office or even a bedroom or en-suite.

If you can afford a two storey extension, you will increase both your living and sleeping space, with the possibilities of a dressing room or an extra bathroom, whatever you need. Per square metre of usable space they are often better value than a single storey extension, because you are putting in one set of foundations and one roof and getting two floors out of them.

The challenge faced with two storey extensions is that they usually require planning permission, whereas ground floor extensions can often be done under your home's Permitted Development rights, provided that they have not been removed. If your home doesn't have Permitted Development rights, or you want to build an extension that can't be done under Permitted Development, you'll have to go through the planning process.

One thing has changed since we first wrote this. The larger home extension scheme, which allowed deeper single storey rear extensions under a prior approval process, was introduced as a temporary measure and was made permanent in 2019. It is still in place, and it still works on a notification basis where the council writes to your adjoining neighbours and gives them the opportunity to object. The extension has to conform to the rules on width, height and materials to qualify, and those rules have been amended more than once, so it is worth checking what applies now rather than what applied when your neighbour did theirs.

Whether your own house still has its Permitted Development rights is a separate question and one worth answering early. There's more on that in do you need planning permission.

Architectural Building Design Services have been established since the year 2000 and have a wide experience of designing all manner of house extensions and achieving planning permission. We offer a free consultation where we will happily visit your property free of charge to understand what is required and offer no nonsense advice.

We surely have "the man with the plan".

For more information please call us on 07773 899 597 or contact us through this website.