Loft conversion in Grange Park

Test the roof space before settling on a layout.

Start with the loft conversion brief

A measured roof survey should establish headroom, structural spans and where a staircase could meet the floor below. Plan the stair, escape route, insulation and building services together before treating the loft as another room.

Compare the proposed roof shape with the address-specific design guidance below. Record chimneys, shared walls and neighbouring rooflines, then ask the appointed designers to identify the structural work and consents the proposal needs.

The local building context

The appraisal, approved in June 2015, places the conservation area south-west of Enfield Town, midway between the town and Winchmore Hill, in the valley between the railway embankment and Bush Hill, with golf courses and open space along both long sides. The estate took its name from Old Park Grange, or Pike’s Farm, demolished in 1913. The builder Richard Metherall, who had built in Muswell Hill, bought the land, and Grange Park station was built in return for his deal with the railway company: an exchange of land and an agreement to build a certain number of houses for commuters.

The appraisal describes three principal roads: The Chine and Old Park Ridings, which run mainly north to south across the Salmons Brook valley and rise steeply towards Old Park Avenue and Green Dragon Lane, and The Grangeway, which crosses them at the lowest point. Houses at the northern ends, built in 1913–14, are mainly detached and larger than those in the southern parts, with a similar Arts and Crafts influence; the inter-war semi-detached houses in the central parts have two-storey bays with half-timbered gables, plain casements and porches. Three parades of shops with flats over line the western Grangeway.

Neither the name Grange Park nor an N21 postcode tells you which council decides, whether a home is inside the conservation area, whether the Article 4 direction covers it, whether a building is listed or locally listed, or which consent route the work takes. The Grange Park ward also takes in EN1 and EN2 addresses, and the direction covers only scheduled house numbers. Confirm the council with the official lookup, then read Enfield’s conservation area documents, the Article 4 schedule and map, the Local Heritage List, the title or lease and the planning history of the property itself.

Local design and consent context

The management proposals name side and rear extensions as the main pressure and say the Article 4 direction lets the council manage their size, form and materials. They add that the council will resist the loss of traditional details such as windows, doors, chimneys, decorative external timber, plasterwork, brickwork and boundary walls; uPVC and concrete roof tiles will not normally be appropriate; new front-garden parking will be resisted; and side extensions should not obscure the views of trees between houses. Any application affecting a property in the conservation area should include a Heritage Statement.

For those houses, the direction withdraws permitted development rights for enlargements and alterations, roof-slope alterations and porches fronting a highway, open space or waterway; outbuildings, pools, oil or LPG heating tanks and hard surfaces fronting one; chimneys, flues and soil and vent pipes; microwave antennas fronting one; front gates, fences and walls, including their demolition; and exterior painting fronting one. Each then needs a specific planning application; the management proposals sum up the effect as needing planning permission to change windows, doors and roof coverings, to paint or render brick facades and to build, alter or demolish a front boundary.

For house projects, DMD 11 says a single-storey rear extension should not exceed 3 metres beyond the original rear wall of a terraced or semi-detached house, or 4 metres for a detached one; DMD 13 generally permits front roof dormers only where they do not materially affect the character of the area; and DMD 14 asks side extensions to keep at least 1 metre from the boundary. The adopted Policies Map shades the open land along both long sides of the conservation area as Metropolitan Open Land, which the Development Management Document gives the same protection and status as the Green Belt.

Access and site planning

The two long roads rise steeply from The Grangeway and most front gardens are shallow, so plan where deliveries stop and waste waits. To place a skip on the road, the skip company must register with Enfield and hold a licence for that specific site, valid for 14 days unless extended. Scaffolding or hoarding on a road or pavement needs a licence, processed within 5 working days and valid for 30 days, and if Enfield decides the road should be closed, the temporary traffic order needs at least six weeks’ notice. For building works Enfield offers a temporary parking dispensation, though it does not reserve a space.

Continue planning

The Grange Park area guide · Loft conversion across London · Hampstead Architecture & Planning · Hampstead Chartered Surveyors

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