Loft conversion in Palmers Green

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

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.

Enfield made an Article 4(2) direction for the Lakes Estate on 24 February 2010 and confirmed it on 26 April 2010. It applies only to the land outlined on its plans, and its schedule lists properties on Derwent Road, Lakeside Road, Grovelands Road, Old Park Road, Fox Lane, Aldermans Hill and Broomfield Avenue in N13, and on Conway Road, Harlech Road and Ulleswater Road in N14. Enfield explains that such a direction withdraws permitted development rights for specified works, so check the schedule and the Article 4 map for the exact address.

Access and site planning

Plan skips, scaffolding and deliveries around the road outside. Within Enfield, the council is the highway authority for Green Lanes, the A105, but the North Circular Road, the A406, is part of the Transport for London Road Network, where TfL issues licences for skips, scaffolds and building materials and prefers loading directly into a vehicle. On Enfield roads, a skip company must register before placing a skip and a skip licence lasts 14 days unless extended; scaffolding or hoarding on or over the road or pavement needs a licence valid for 30 days, which can be extended, and a road closure needs at least six weeks’ notice. Fox Lane has a CCTV-enforced traffic filter, so plan vehicle access, and for building works ask Enfield about a temporary parking dispensation.

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The Palmers Green area guide · Loft conversion across London · Hampstead Architecture & Planning · Hampstead Chartered Surveyors

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