House extension in Palmers Green

Connect the added space to the existing home.

Start with the house extension brief

Begin with how the new space will meet the old rooms, garden and circulation. A measured brief should record boundaries, levels, existing drains, neighbouring windows and the parts of the building you intend to keep.

Develop daylight, structure and services alongside the floor plan. Agree which openings and finishes are included, how the existing home will be protected during construction and which decisions need surveys or approval before a quotation.

The local building context

Enfield’s Local Heritage List records that large tracts of land in Palmers Green were sold for building in 1902, after which the area developed rapidly. The first large-scale developments were the Old Park Estate, between Fox Lane and Aldermans Hill, and the Hazelwood Park Estate, between Hazelwood Lane and Hedge Lane, which was laid out between 1905 and 1910. Enfield’s Lakes Estate appraisal says its land was previously known as Old Park and that the estate was developed between 1904 and 1914, mainly by small builders, with no architects associated with its houses.

The appraisal calls the Lakes Estate the quintessence of Edwardian suburbia: mostly closely spaced semi-detached pairs with some small terraces, set slightly back on a continuous building line. Fronts are usually red facing brick, with yellow London stocks to the sides and back; roofs were originally red clay tile, Welsh slate or a mix of the two; and the commonest gable treatment is decorative timber framing with rough-cast panels. Its outstanding feature is the woodwork, from carved and turned porches to sashes with margin glazing, and rear extensions are generally two storeys.

Neither the name Palmers Green nor an N13 postcode tells you which council decides, whether a home is in the Lakes Estate Conservation Area, whether its Article 4 direction covers the house, whether a building is listed or locally listed, or which consent route the work takes. Enfield’s Palmers Green ward is served by both N13 and N14, some other N13 addresses sit in Bowes and Southgate wards, the conservation area spans N13 and N14, and the Article 4 direction applies only to the properties in its schedule and on its plans. Confirm the council with the official lookup, then read the conservation area and Article 4 documents, any list entry, the title or lease and the planning history.

Local design and consent context

The appraisal was first adopted in 2010 and reviewed in July and August 2014, when it recorded no change to the boundary since designation. The current appraisal and the management proposals are both marked ‘Approved June 2015’, and the management proposals confirmed the boundaries after that review. Enfield’s Lakes Estate page links both documents, the Article 4 directions and an Article 4 map, and policy DMD 44 asks for a Heritage Statement with any application affecting a heritage asset or its setting.

The management proposals say mass-produced modern materials such as uPVC and concrete roof tiles will not normally be appropriate, and that box dormers, obtrusive roof lights and non-traditional roof coverings visible from the public realm, and the demolition of original chimneys, will normally be resisted, as will new front-garden parking. They add that dividing a house need not harm the area if it is done without altering the house’s appearance and leads to no extra parking, especially in front gardens, although the Development Management Document sets a general presumption against converting single houses into flats in conservation areas.

Several Development Management Document policies reach everyday house projects. DMD 11 sets criteria for rear extensions that need planning permission, including their depth beyond the original rear wall; DMD 13 generally permits front roof dormers only where they do not materially affect the character of the area and are not dominant or intrusive; DMD 5 sets a general presumption against converting single houses into flats in conservation areas and limits clusters of conversions; and DMD 46 asks that a new crossover does not harm the street through lost front gardens or front walls.

Access and site planning

Enfield says noisy building work that can be heard at the site boundary should only take place Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, and Saturday, 8am to 1pm, and is not allowed outside these times or on bank holidays unless agreed with the council in advance. In a converted house or a flat above a shop, check the lease and any rules on noise, deliveries and shared halls. If you will live at home through the work, decide which rooms stay usable and when water or power will be off, and tell neighbours what is planned and when.

Continue planning

The Palmers Green area guide · House extension across London · Hampstead Architecture & Planning · Hampstead Chartered Surveyors

Discuss your project

Tell us what you are planning in Palmers Green

Share the property location, the work you have in mind and any drawings or permissions you already have.

£5M public liability, £10M employers’ liability and contractors’ all risks cover.

Design support: Hampstead Architecture & Planning.
Surveying support: Hampstead Chartered Surveyors.