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Arkley EN5 · House refurbishment

House refurbishment in Arkley

Bungalows, dormers and Green Belt edges on Arkley’s roads

This page is for houses on Arkley’s own roads, among them Arkley Lane, Arkley Drive, Arkley View and Barnet Gate Lane. Barnet’s planning register describes them through the applications their owners have made: bungalows to be rebuilt as two-storey houses, lofts to be opened up with dormers, replacement houses with basements. Read those records, and the constraints the register lists for your own address, before deciding how far your refurbishment should go.

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Serving Arkley from our Hampstead studio · NW3 6DN
020 7101 3168

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House refurbishment in Arkley at a glance

Two houses on the same Arkley road can face different checks. Barnet’s planning register lists Green Belt among the constraints of an application site on Arkley Lane, yet shows no Green Belt row for another house on the lane, nor for the Arkley Drive and Arkley View sites whose records we checked. The same records list tree preservation order areas at the Arkley Drive house and the second Arkley Lane house, from a 1981 order for Barnet Road, and at the lane house also from a 2022 order. So begin with your own address, not the road name: confirm the council, then read the constraints tab.

Barnet planning register: public access search (planning, building control and licensing)

For the whole area, including conservation areas, permissions and working hours, read our Arkley renovation guide.

Approved guide prices

What does a house refurbishment cost in Arkley?

Cost in Arkley depends on depth of work. A cosmetic refurbishment that keeps the existing layout runs £650–£1,250/sqm (typically £90,000–£180,000), while a back-to-brick renovation runs £2,250–£3,250/sqm (typically £275,000–£475,000), excluding VAT. A written scope and site assessment are needed before any project price can be fixed.

Scope of workGuide rateTypical total
Cosmetic — existing layout retained£650–£1,250/sqm£90,000–£180,000
Back-to-brick renovation£2,250–£3,250/sqm£275,000–£475,000
Typical programme16–32 weeks on site

Guide rates exclude VAT and are set by depth of work, not by postcode. Compare scopes in our London refurbishment cost-per-square-metre guide or try the cost calculator.

The buildings

What Arkley house owners have applied for

Barnet’s register shows three kinds of change applied for at Arkley houses: replacing the house, extending into the roof and to the rear, and adding space below ground. Each starts from a different survey.

Some applications start again from the ground. One made in 2025 on Arkley Lane, to demolish an existing bungalow and build a two-storey house with rooms in the roof space, was approved subject to conditions. So was one made in 2019 on Arkley Drive, to demolish an existing house and build a new two-storey detached house. If you own a bungalow or an older house here, compare a full refurbishment with a rebuild before you commit, because the planning questions, the structure and the services differ between the two.

Barnet planning register: public access search (planning, building control and licensing)

Other applications keep the house and extend it. An application made in 2013 at a house on Arkley Drive, for hip-to-gable ends on both sides, a rear dormer and rooflights to make a loft conversion, is recorded as lawful. One made in 2019 at another Arkley Drive house, for a first-floor rear extension, two rear dormers and front and side rooflights, was approved subject to conditions, as was one made in 2018 on Arkley View for works including a side and rear extension in place of a conservatory and garage, with front and rear dormers.

Barnet planning register: public access search (planning, building control and licensing)

One Arkley Lane application shows the scale a basement scheme can reach: made in 2021, it was to replace a house and summer house with a two-storey house with a basement level, rooms in the roof space and a garden room, and it was approved subject to conditions. Barnet’s Local Plan asks basement schemes, among other things, to leave trees and roots of value on the site, and trees and their roots on neighbouring land, undamaged, to show the ground is suitable, and to stay subordinate in size to the building; lightwell railings and grilles should not add visual clutter.

Barnet planning register: public access search (planning, building control and licensing) · Barnet Local Plan 2021–2036, adopted 4 March 2025: the plan and its adoption documents

Permissions and local rules

What to settle for an Arkley house first

Green Belt at the address

What if the register lists Green Belt?

Barnet’s Local Plan Policy ECC06 says any proposal for development in the Green Belt will be considered in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework. An extension, a larger roof or a replacement house on a Green Belt plot is therefore weighed against national Green Belt policy as well as Barnet’s design guidance. Where the register lists Green Belt for your address, have that test applied to an outline scheme before you pay for detailed drawings or structural calculations.

Barnet Local Plan 2021–2036, adopted 4 March 2025: the plan and its adoption documents · GOV.UK: National Planning Policy Framework, Chapter 13: Protecting Green Belt land (GB1–8) · Barnet planning register: public access search (planning, building control and licensing)

Listing and Barnet’s extension guide

Barnet adopted Part 4 of its Sustainable Design and Development Guidance in June 2026 for homes that need planning permission or prior approval. It is not intended for homes in conservation areas or for locally or nationally listed buildings, although it says it may still be pertinent in certain instances. Barnet’s register shows a ‘Listed Building’ entry for a building on Oaklands Lane, a road Barnet’s 1972 tree order places at Arkley, with the grade given only as ‘LL’. Before relying on Part 4’s figures, ask Barnet whether your house is on the local or national list.

Barnet Sustainable Design and Development Guidance SPD, adopted 15 June 2026: Part 4, guidance on residential extensions and alterations (not intended for conservation areas or nationally or locally listed buildings) · Barnet planning register: public access search (planning, building control and licensing) · Planning Data: South Side of Oaklands Lane, Arkley, Tree Preservation Order 1972 (TPO/CA/38)

Dormers, gables and lawful development

For a house outside those exclusions, Part 4 says front dormers will generally not be supported unless they are a common feature of the street and do not unbalance the adjoining houses. Where permitted development rights exist, a rear dormer can use them; otherwise rear dormers should be inset at least 0.5 metres from the eaves, ridge and edges of the original roof. A lawful development certificate puts a permitted development route in writing; the Arkley Drive hip-to-gable scheme is recorded with the status ‘Lawful’.

Barnet Sustainable Design and Development Guidance SPD, adopted 15 June 2026: Part 4, guidance on residential extensions and alterations (not intended for conservation areas or nationally or locally listed buildings) · Householder permitted development technical guidance · Barnet planning register: public access search (planning, building control and licensing)

Trees inside house plots

Tree orders also reach Arkley’s lanes: Barnet made a tree preservation order for Barnet Gate Lane, Arkley, in 1997. For houses outside its exclusions, Part 4 asks that trees under a Tree Preservation Order, among others, be protected, and says extension proposals must show that their stems, canopies and roots can be adequately protected. Barnet’s protected trees page asks you to check its map and note the order number before applying, and to contact your home insurer first if you think a tree has caused subsidence.

Planning Data: Barnet Gate Lane, Arkley, Tree Preservation Order 1997 (TPO/CA/321) · Barnet Sustainable Design and Development Guidance SPD, adopted 15 June 2026: Part 4, guidance on residential extensions and alterations (not intended for conservation areas or nationally or locally listed buildings) · Barnet protected trees and tree works

Working hours, skips, parking and the conservation area maps for the whole area are in our Arkley guide. Local guidance checked ; requirements depend on the address, the building and the complete proposal.

What the work covers

What the work on an Arkley house covers

Roof space and dormers

A survey of the roof structure, the chimneys and any existing dormers, then a loft scheme drawn for the route it needs: permitted development, a lawful development certificate or a planning application. Where an application is needed for a house outside its exclusions, Part 4 says dormer cheeks should generally be finished in lead, tiles, slates or other traditional materials, flat dormer tops in lead or zinc, and that roofing felt should be avoided.

Barnet Sustainable Design and Development Guidance SPD, adopted 15 June 2026: Part 4, guidance on residential extensions and alterations (not intended for conservation areas or nationally or locally listed buildings)

Rear and side additions

Replacing a tired conservatory or garage with a properly built extension, opening the ground floor to the garden and reworking the rooms above. Barnet’s Local Plan Policy CDH05 wants an extension, among other things, to suit the existing building in style, form and materials, to stay subordinate to it in size, scale and/or height, and to have a roof shape in sympathy with it, so the new rooms are designed as part of the house from the first sketch.

Barnet Local Plan 2021–2036, adopted 4 March 2025: the plan and its adoption documents

Heating, insulation and roof panels

Insulation, heating and ventilation planned as one package. Where an air source heat pump needs planning permission at a house outside Part 4’s exclusions, Part 4 says it should be sited away from neighbours’ windows and important amenity areas such as gardens, not on shared walls or boundaries and not in small spaces such as a side return. Part 4 encourages roof-mounted solar panels as generally acceptable, and where they are not permitted development it asks that they project no more than 150mm from the roof.

Barnet Sustainable Design and Development Guidance SPD, adopted 15 June 2026: Part 4, guidance on residential extensions and alterations (not intended for conservation areas or nationally or locally listed buildings)

How we work

How we run a Arkley house refurbishment

  1. Free feasibility visit

    We walk round the house with you and discuss what is feasible.

  2. Survey

    Rooms, levels and features to keep are measured, with opening-up or asbestos checks where needed.

  3. Design and consents

    Our own architects and structural engineers design the layout and structural openings, plan the service routes with them, and identify which consents and party wall notices apply.

  4. Price and contract

    A fixed written price and a JCT contract follow the survey, scope and specification. It records allowances, exclusions and how changes are priced.

  5. On site

    Work is inspected before it is covered, and a director reviews key decisions.

  6. Handover

    Testing, commissioning and snagging. Completed work carries a 12-month defects-rectification period under the JCT contract terms.

Real projects, clearly located

Examples of our house refurbishment work elsewhere in London

None of these projects is in Arkley. Each card names where the work was done, so you can judge the finish and the approach before you brief your own.

Your brief

Before you ask for a quotation

  1. Read your address in the register

    Search Barnet’s planning register for your address and open the constraints tab of any past application there: it shows whether the site carries Green Belt, tree order areas, listed building entries or a smoke control zone. Send us what it lists, with the past decisions.

  2. Tell us what kind of house it is

    Say whether it is a bungalow, a two-storey house or one already extended into the roof or below ground, roughly when it was built or rebuilt, and whether you hold the approved drawings for any earlier work.

  3. Mark the trees and the hedge line

    On a simple plan, mark the trees in your garden and next door that stand near the work, the hedges along the road and where vehicles get in. These decide where scaffolding, skips and any digging can go.

Ready to take the next step? Send the address and a short outline of the work.

Book a free feasibility visit

Questions before you begin

House refurbishment in Arkley: questions

Could I rebuild rather than refurbish?

It has been approved before in Arkley. An application made in 1993 to demolish a bungalow on Barnet Gate Lane and build a two-storey detached house was approved subject to conditions, as were the later Arkley Lane and Arkley Drive schemes described above. A rebuild is a different planning question from a refurbishment, and on Green Belt land Barnet weighs it against national Green Belt policy, so test both options on your own plot before choosing.

Barnet planning register: public access search (planning, building control and licensing) · Barnet Local Plan 2021–2036, adopted 4 March 2025: the plan and its adoption documents

Can I add a basement under my Arkley house?

Possibly, but it is a planning question in its own right. Barnet’s Local Plan explains that basement excavation can affect groundwater and lead to ground instability or increased flood risk, and as a general indicative guideline it seeks to keep a share of the rear garden free of subterranean development and at its original level. For a house outside its exclusions, Part 4 says a basement extension should be a maximum of one storey, reached from inside the house, with habitable rooms at least 2.5 metres high.

Barnet Local Plan 2021–2036, adopted 4 March 2025: the plan and its adoption documents · Barnet Sustainable Design and Development Guidance SPD, adopted 15 June 2026: Part 4, guidance on residential extensions and alterations (not intended for conservation areas or nationally or locally listed buildings)

Can I fit a wood-burning stove?

Check the rules first. Barnet’s register lists a smoke control zone among the constraints of the four Arkley application sites we checked, on Arkley Lane, Arkley Drive and Arkley View. GOV.UK explains that in a smoke control area you cannot release smoke from a chimney and can only burn authorised fuel unless you use a Defra-approved appliance, and that your council can tell you whether you live in one.

Barnet planning register: public access search (planning, building control and licensing) · GOV.UK: smoke control areas, the rules

What about the hedges on Arkley Lane?

Treat them as part of the planning picture. Barnet’s open data on nature conservation sites, in a 2023 file, describe Arkley Lane and Pastures, a Site of Borough Importance (Grade II), as a country lane with fine old hedges, surrounded by flower-rich meadows and pastures; such sites are not a statutory designation, but their protection is considered through the planning process. Where permission is needed for a house outside its exclusions, Part 4 asks for front boundaries no higher than 1 metre and for front-garden parking on the minimum hardstanding a vehicle needs.

Barnet open data: Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (file dated 25 August 2023) · Barnet Sustainable Design and Development Guidance SPD, adopted 15 June 2026: Part 4, guidance on residential extensions and alterations (not intended for conservation areas or nationally or locally listed buildings)

Is a rear balcony possible?

Barnet has approved one with a privacy screen. An application made in 2023 at a house on Arkley Lane, for a single-storey rear extension with a balcony and privacy screen above and changes to the existing rear dormer, was approved subject to conditions. Barnet’s Local Plan supports extensions that respect the privacy of surrounding residents, so show the neighbours’ windows and gardens on the drawings from the start.

Barnet planning register: public access search (planning, building control and licensing) · Barnet Local Plan 2021–2036, adopted 4 March 2025: the plan and its adoption documents

How much does a house refurbishment cost in Arkley?

It depends on scope. In Arkley, a cosmetic refurbishment keeping the existing layout runs £650–£1,250/sqm (typically £90,000–£180,000); a back-to-brick renovation runs £2,250–£3,250/sqm (typically £275,000–£475,000), excluding VAT. A written scope and site assessment come before any fixed price.

Book a free feasibility visit

Talk to us about your Arkley house

Tell us the address and what you want to change in your Arkley house. We reply within one working day, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.

Or call 020 7101 3168. We serve Arkley from our studio at Unit 3, Palace Court, 250 Finchley Road, London NW3 6DN.

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