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Bromley and Bickley BR1 · Houses, flats & bathrooms

Renovations in Bromley and Bickley

Detached Bickley houses and inter-war plots

Bromley Council describes Bickley as a residential suburb of mainly detached houses with large gardens, parts of it inside the Bickley Area of Special Residential Character or the Bickley Park and Mavelstone Road conservation areas. In the Bromley Town Centre conservation area, Queen’s Road has pairs of red brick Victorian houses. Whatever the job, from a house to a flat or one bathroom, start from that building and check which designations reach its address.

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Hampstead Renovations design and build studio on Finchley Road
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Start with your project

Choose the work your Bromley and Bickley home needs

Choose a focused room renovation or a coordinated refurbishment. Each service page explains the scope in more detail and gives you a direct route to discuss the work.

01 Detached and inter-war houses

House refurbishment in Bromley and Bickley

Bickley is mainly detached houses, and the Local Plan describes its Area of Special Residential Character (ASRC) as spacious inter-war development of large houses in substantial plots. Inside that area an Article 4 direction, in force since 15 March 2022, removes the permitted development right to add storeys to a house. Before an extension is drawn, read Policy 6 on dormers and Policy 8, which normally keeps at least 1 metre to the side boundary for two-storey work.

  • Bickley ASRC, conservation area and listing checked for the address
  • Side-space and dormer policy read before drawing
  • Upward extension rights checked against the Article 4 direction
Explore house refurbishment across London

02 Flats in Bromley and Bickley

Flat renovation in Bromley and Bickley

The council’s descriptions of Bickley and of the town centre streets mostly describe houses, so for a flat, begin with the building it sits in and with the lease. Government guidance says householder permitted development rights do not cover flats, so an outside alteration that counts as development needs planning permission, and LEASE explains that the landlord’s permission may still be needed once planning permission or Building Regulations approval is in hand.

  • Lease alterations clause read
  • Shared drainage and floor build-up located
  • Outside changes checked for planning permission
Explore flat refurbishment across London

03 Family bathrooms and en-suites

Bathroom renovation in Bromley and Bickley

Your bathroom can be the whole job: a standalone renovation of the family bathroom in a detached Bickley house, an en-suite or the only bathroom in a flat is welcome. GOV.UK lists installing a bathroom that involves plumbing as work that can need Building Regulations approval, and Bromley Council stresses that this approval and planning permission are completely separate, so one never stands in for the other. In a flat, check the lease before the room moves.

  • Waste route and fall to the stack checked
  • Extract outlet through wall or roof agreed
  • Building Regulations route confirmed
Explore bathroom renovation across London

Real projects, clearly located

Ideas for your Bromley and Bickley refurbishment

Photographs of our work elsewhere in London

Explore a whole house in Belsize Park, an apartment on Chesterfield Street in Mayfair and a bathroom in Pimlico. Use these examples to discuss the scale of work and finishes you have in mind for your own home.

Completed exterior at Belsize Park Gardens after refurbishment

Whole-house refurbishment · Belsize Park, NW3

Belsize Park Gardens, NW3

Full-house refurbishment in Belsize Park with basement, extension and loft works.

Conservation Area · 5 Storeys · Documented programme: 12 months

Documentary programme, not verified elapsed construction time or a timetable for another project.

View the project

More London project records: Carlton Lodge, Belgravia · King’s Road, Chelsea.

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Surveying via Hampstead Chartered Surveyors

Local knowledge with a purpose

Understand the building before changing it

This page centres on Bickley, in the London Borough of Bromley, and on the residential streets of the Bromley Town Centre conservation area. It draws on the council’s descriptions of the Bickley Area of Special Residential Character and of the Bickley Park, Mavelstone Road and Bromley Town Centre conservation areas; for any other address, start from the council’s map rather than this page.

Bromley Council’s Urban Design Guide of July 2023 describes Bickley as a predominantly residential suburban area of mainly detached houses, with no clearly defined centre; public open space is limited, but well-spaced houses have large gardens. It describes the conservation area there, listed by the council as Bickley Park and designated on 28 October 1986, as around 90 mainly residential properties, mostly large houses on spacious plots, together with St George’s Church of 1864, and notes good examples of Arts and Crafts buildings, a style mirrored in modern housing throughout Bickley.

Bromley Council: Urban Design Guide SPD, adopted 5 July 2023 · Planning Data: Bickley Park conservation area

The Local Plan’s Bickley Area of Special Residential Character stretches from the railway south of Bickley Park Road north to Chislehurst Road, and from Pines Road east to Station Approach, plus an enclave around Merlewood Drive. It excludes the 1960s redevelopment of the former Bickley Hall and surrounds a conservation area in Woodlands Road. The plan calls its character spacious inter-war development, with large houses in substantial plots beside the conservation areas at Chislehurst and Bickley. The design guide says the Mavelstone Road, Bickley Conservation Area, designated in May 1987, has a strong representation of the Arts and Crafts Movement.

Bromley Local Plan, adopted 16 January 2019: policy document · Planning Data: Mavelstone Road, Bickley conservation area · Bromley Council: Urban Design Guide SPD, adopted 5 July 2023

Bromley Town Centre Conservation Area, designated in January 1985, has an appraisal and management plan adopted on 25 June 2025 replacing the 2011 version. Beyond its High Street, Market Square and lower London Road spine, it has homes: North Street, West Street and Queen’s Road contain residential properties, Queen’s Road with pairs of two-storey red brick Victorian houses with canted bay windows. From the Kentish Way junction east to 85 Widmore Road on the north side and 60 on the south, the council wants to keep the character of a residential road with elegant rows of houses on either side.

Planning Data: Bromley Town Centre conservation area · Bromley Council: Bromley Town Centre Conservation Area appraisal and management plan, adopted 25 June 2025

The first local check

Street names and postcodes can mislead in Bickley

Take 35A Chislehurst Road: listed Grade II, it stands in Bickley, inside the Bickley Park Conservation Area. A BR1 postcode tells you no more. It does not show whether the Area of Special Residential Character, a conservation area or an Article 4 direction covers a house, or whether it is listed. A ward name such as Bickley & Sundridge, one of the 22 wards in use since 2022, does not show it either, and the ward order’s text sets out no boundaries. Look the house up on the council’s interactive map, the Article 4 list and any list entry, then read the title or lease and the planning history.

Find the council for the property · legislation.gov.uk: SI 2021/424, the Bromley electoral wards order (as made) · legislation.gov.uk: SI 2021/424, Schedule listing the 22 Bromley wards · Bromley Council: conservation areas, the interactive map and the appraisals adopted on 25 June 2025 · Bromley Council: Article 4 directions made in the borough · Planning Data: 35A Chislehurst Road, Bickley (Grade II) · LEASE: alterations and home improvements

Separate checks, one coordinated brief

Planning, listed buildings, building control and leases

One approval does not settle every requirement. Identify the applicable routes before ordering work, and record who will prepare submissions, arrange inspections and provide the relevant completion information.

Planning applications and householder rights

Does work on a Bromley or Bickley home need a planning application?

Planning permission is needed for development, and GOV.UK places interior alterations outside it, so refitting rooms inside a house or a flat does not usually call for an application. Householder permitted development rights belong to houses: the government’s guidance says they do not apply to flats. For a house, check each item against the limits and conditions and against the Bickley ASRC direction, which removes the right to add storeys. Separately, a borough-wide direction means turning a house into a small house in multiple occupation needs permission in every ward except Biggin Hill and Darwin, on the ward boundaries of August 2021.

When planning permission is required · Householder permitted development technical guidance · Bromley Council: Article 4 direction, Bickley Area of Special Residential Character (sealed 15 March 2021, in effect from 15 March 2022) · Planning Data: Bromley Article 4 direction, Part 3 Class L, wards other than Biggin Hill and Darwin

Listing, and what conservation areas add

Does a listed house in Bickley need consent for work inside?

It can. Listed building consent is not only about the outside: internal alterations that affect a listed building’s character can need it too. Inside the Bickley Park Conservation Area, list entries include the Church of St George, 35A Chislehurst Road, Bickley Court and Crosshand, all Grade II, and Stotfold, Grade II, stands in the Mavelstone Road conservation area. Conservation area status is a different control, bringing extra planning controls including extra protection for trees, and a house is not listed because it is in one. Locally listed buildings count as non-designated heritage assets.

Historic England: listed-building consent · legislation.gov.uk: Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, section 7 · Planning Data: Church of St George, Bickley (Grade II) · Planning Data: 35A Chislehurst Road, Bickley (Grade II) · Planning Data: Bickley Court (Grade II) · Planning Data: Crosshand (Grade II) · Planning Data: Stotfold, Mavelstone Road conservation area (Grade II) · Bromley Council: conservation areas, the interactive map and the appraisals adopted on 25 June 2025 · Bromley Local Plan, adopted 16 January 2019: policy document

Building Regulations

Which Bromley and Bickley jobs need Building Regulations approval?

Bromley’s building control guidance is clear that the Building Regulations are completely separate from planning law, and that approval under one gives no consent under the other; a landlord’s consent does not cover them either. GOV.UK names installing a bathroom that involves plumbing as work that can need approval. Settle at the start whether the builder or your own designer applies, and make sure you receive the completion certificate at handover.

Bromley Council: building regulations guide · When Building Regulations approval is needed

Leases, freeholders and party walls

Apart from the council, which other parties can a Bromley project involve?

With a flat, start from the lease: depending on its terms, LEASE says, you might need your landlord’s permission before making alterations, even with planning permission or Building Regulations approval in place. The Party Wall Act is a separate matter of private law, which Bromley Council says it does not administer, and it reaches only notifiable work: building on or at the boundary, work to a party wall, or digging near and below a neighbour’s foundations. A detached house is not outside it if an extension or excavation comes close to the boundary.

LEASE: alterations and home improvements · Party-wall work requiring notice · Bromley Council: building regulations guide

Local facts that affect the brief

Apply the controls to the work you actually need

Bickley ASRC: Local Plan 2019

The Bickley Area of Special Residential Character

An Area of Special Residential Character is a Local Plan designation, not a conservation area. Policy 44 requires development in one to respect, enhance and strengthen its special and distinctive qualities, and the plan’s guidelines for these areas say backland development will not be permitted, new development must take account of existing front and rear building lines, mature trees and landscaping are to be kept wherever possible, and proposals that significantly increase hard surfacing in front of houses will be resisted unless they come with satisfactory landscaping.

Bromley Local Plan, adopted 16 January 2019: policy document

Article 4: Bickley ASRC, March 2022

Article 4 directions in and around Bickley

The Bickley ASRC direction, made on 3 March 2021 and sealed on 15 March 2021, was confirmed to come into effect on 15 March 2022. Its schedule removes Part 1 Class AA, the right to add storeys to a house, and Part 20 Classes A and AA to AD, which allow new homes to be built on top of existing buildings; it does not deal with ordinary extensions, and it applies only inside the ASRC boundary. A separate 2023 direction for the Southborough Road, Bickley neighbourhood centre, later modified by the Secretary of State, concerns changing commercial premises into homes; it does not cover houses.

Bromley Council: Article 4 direction, Bickley Area of Special Residential Character (sealed 15 March 2021, in effect from 15 March 2022) · Planning Data: Bickley Area of Special Residential Character Article 4 direction · Planning Data: Southborough Road, Bickley neighbourhood centre, Class MA Article 4 direction

None of the documents on the council’s Article 4 list is named for the Bickley Park, Mavelstone Road, Sundridge Avenue or Bromley Town Centre conservation areas. That is an absence on a list, not proof that no direction touches a given house, so check the council’s map for the address.

Bromley Council: Article 4 directions made in the borough · Bromley Council: conservation areas, the interactive map and the appraisals adopted on 25 June 2025

Designations 1985–1988; appraisal June 2025

The conservation areas around Bickley and Bromley town

Bromley has 47 conservation areas, the council says. Around Bickley and the town they include Bromley Town Centre, designated on 22 January 1985; Bickley Park, on 28 October 1986; Mavelstone Road, Bickley, on 19 May 1987; and Sundridge Avenue, Bromley, on 26 January 1988. On 25 June 2025 the council adopted appraisal and management plans for five areas, Bromley Town Centre among them. The guidance for its other conservation areas, including Bickley Park and Mavelstone Road, is not online, and the council says it is available on request.

Bromley Council: conservation areas, the interactive map and the appraisals adopted on 25 June 2025 · Planning Data: Bromley Town Centre conservation area · Planning Data: Bickley Park conservation area · Planning Data: Mavelstone Road, Bickley conservation area · Planning Data: Sundridge Avenue, Bromley conservation area · Bromley Council: Bromley Town Centre Conservation Area appraisal and management plan, adopted 25 June 2025 · Bromley Council: conservation area guidance documents, available on request

Local Plan 2019; SPD 2023; review 2025

The adopted Local Plan, the design guide and the plan review

The Bromley Local Plan was adopted as the statutory Development Plan on 16 January 2019 and is used with the London Plan. For extensions, Policy 6 asks that scale, form and materials respect or complement the house and that dormers suit the roofscape and sit away from prominent roof pitches unless dormers are a feature of the area; Policy 8 normally requires at least 1 metre to the side boundary for two or more storeys. The Urban Design Guide, a supplementary planning document adopted on 5 July 2023, is guidance and does not set new policy.

Bromley Council: the Bromley Local Plan, adopted as the statutory Development Plan on 16 January 2019 · Bromley Local Plan, adopted 16 January 2019: policy document · Bromley Council: Urban Design Guide SPD, adopted 5 July 2023

The Local Plan is being reviewed. The council’s second Regulation 18 consultation, on its Direction of Travel document, ran from July to September 2025; that is an early stage, and nothing in it is adopted policy.

Bromley Council: review of the Local Plan, second Regulation 18 consultation July to September 2025 (not policy)

Windows on order, a roof stripped or a trench dug cannot easily be undone if a consent then proves to be missing. Before any of them, establish for the exact address which controls apply, and keep each separate: planning permission, including for outside changes to a flat; listed building consent; conservation area controls; the Bickley ASRC policy and its Article 4 direction; Building Regulations approval, which Bromley stresses is distinct from planning; any landlord’s consent under the lease; Party Wall notice where the work is notifiable; and six weeks’ notice to the council before work to a tree in a conservation area.

When planning permission is required · Householder permitted development technical guidance · Historic England: listed-building consent · Bromley Council: conservation areas, the interactive map and the appraisals adopted on 25 June 2025 · Bromley Local Plan, adopted 16 January 2019: policy document · Bromley Council: Article 4 direction, Bickley Area of Special Residential Character (sealed 15 March 2021, in effect from 15 March 2022) · Bromley Council: building regulations guide · LEASE: alterations and home improvements · Party-wall work requiring notice · Bromley Council: trees in conservation areas

Local guidance checked . The linked sources help you prepare a brief; requirements depend on the address, building and complete proposal.

From retained details to shared services

Windows, bathrooms, side space, front gardens, trees and insulation

Windows and doors

Bickley’s houses run from good Arts and Crafts examples to inter-war and modern homes, so survey the existing windows and doors before weighing repair against replacement. On a listed building, such as Bickley Court or Crosshand, new windows can need listed building consent. No document on the council’s Article 4 list is named for Bickley Park or Mavelstone Road, but confirm the position on the map for the address. For a flat, householder permitted development rights do not apply, and the lease may require the landlord’s consent.

Bromley Council: Urban Design Guide SPD, adopted 5 July 2023 · Bromley Local Plan, adopted 16 January 2019: policy document · Historic England: listed-building consent · Planning Data: Bickley Court (Grade II) · Planning Data: Crosshand (Grade II) · Bromley Council: Article 4 directions made in the borough · Householder permitted development technical guidance · LEASE: alterations and home improvements

Bathrooms, stacks and loft rooms

In a detached house, a new bathroom or en-suite usually turns on two routes: the waste to an existing stack and the extract to a wall or roof outlet. In a flat, the stack may serve other homes, so trace it and read the lease before the room moves. Plumbing a bathroom in can need Building Regulations approval. A loft bathroom lit by a new dormer comes under Policy 6, which asks dormers to suit the roofscape and sit away from prominent roof pitches unless dormers are a feature of the area.

When Building Regulations approval is needed · LEASE: alterations and home improvements · Bromley Local Plan, adopted 16 January 2019: policy document

Walls, floors and side extensions

Before a wall comes out, our structural engineers confirm what it carries, and in a flat the build-up of an opened floor is planned for sound between homes. Extensions follow the Local Plan: Policy 8 normally keeps at least 1 metre to the side boundary for two or more storeys, Policy 6 asks for gaps between buildings to be respected where they add to the area’s character, and flat-roofed side extensions of two or more storeys to houses with traditional roofs will normally be resisted unless well set back and unobtrusive.

GOV.UK: Approved Document E, resistance to sound · Bromley Local Plan, adopted 16 January 2019: policy document

Front gardens, drives and boundaries

The Urban Design Guide notes that, while public open space in Bickley is limited, its well-spaced houses have large gardens. Inside the Area of Special Residential Character, proposals that significantly increase the hard surfacing in front of a house will be resisted unless they come with satisfactory landscaping, and new work must take account of existing front and rear building lines. Before a drive is widened or a front wall rebuilt, check the address against these guidelines and against any conservation area or listing.

Bromley Council: Urban Design Guide SPD, adopted 5 July 2023 · Bromley Local Plan, adopted 16 January 2019: policy document · Bromley Council: conservation areas, the interactive map and the appraisals adopted on 25 June 2025

Lower floors, gardens and trees

Interior works are generally not development, but the planning Act excludes works that add space below ground from that exception, so a basement or a lowered floor needs checking for planning permission. Gardens bring their own checks: Bromley has over 2,000 tree preservation orders, and in a conservation area trees over 7.5cm in diameter at 1.5 metres above ground are protected and need six weeks’ notice before work. Digging near and below a neighbour’s foundations can be notifiable under the Party Wall Act; check the address’s flood risk too.

legislation.gov.uk: Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 55, meaning of development · Bromley Council: tree protection and tree preservation orders · Bromley Local Plan, adopted 16 January 2019: policy document · Bromley Council: trees in conservation areas · Party-wall work requiring notice · Check long-term flood risk in England

Insulation, heating and glazing as one plan

Plan insulation, heating, ventilation and any new glazing together rather than item by item; for historic buildings, Historic England sets out a whole-building approach. Then test each outside change against the address: Policy 6 asks for an extension’s materials to respect or complement the house, the ASRC guidelines ask for materials that match or complement adjoining development, and on a listed building, changes that affect its character can need listed building consent.

Historic England: a whole-building approach · Bromley Local Plan, adopted 16 January 2019: policy document · Historic England: listed-building consent

A practical plan for the street and building

Working hours, deliveries and shared access

Skips, scaffolding and parking on Bromley streets

A skip on the public highway needs Bromley’s temporary highway licence, which only skip companies on the council’s register can apply for; it is valid for two weeks, and the council asks you to allow two working days for processing. No licence is needed on a private road where public access is restricted or controlled, but an unadopted road the public can pass along still needs one. For the red routes, the A21, including Kentish Way, and the A232, the council sends enquiries to Transport for London, which licenses skips there, and it grants no parking dispensations on them. Scaffolding or a hoarding on the highway needs consent too; a parking bay suspension needs an application at least three working days before it starts.

Bromley Council: temporary highway licences for skips · Bromley Council: temporary highway licences for scaffolding · Bromley Council: temporary highway licences for hoardings · Bromley Council: parking dispensations and suspensions

Noisy work, Section 61 and the household

Bromley Council says noisy construction work should normally take place only from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and 8am to 1pm on Saturday, with no noisy operations on Sundays or bank holidays. Where emergency works or special circumstances justify noise outside those hours, a contractor may apply for prior consent under Section 61 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974. Tell neighbours, and any managing agent, the start date and the loud stages in writing, and decide whether the household stays at home during them.

Bromley Council: construction and demolition noise

A clear scope before a price

Plan your renovation budget and quotation

A budget you can compare starts from a survey of the house or flat as it stands and a written scope detailed enough for every builder to price the same work. In Bickley, keep outside items such as roofs, dormers, drives and front boundaries apart from the rooms, and mark the items that wait on a consent, a landlord’s reply, a tree notice or a Party Wall notice.

Existing condition

Give every bidder the same measured drawings and photographs of the house or flat, so each one prices from one record of its fabric and services.

  • Floor plans with room heights
  • Roof, windows and front boundary condition noted
  • Areas to be opened up listed

Rooms, finishes and services

Take the rooms one at a time: what is removed, what is installed and the finish expected on walls, floors and joinery.

  • Fittings schedule room by room
  • Waste and extract routes drawn
  • Items you will supply marked

Approvals and site arrangements

List each consent and street licence the job relies on, and the date by which each must be in hand.

  • Conservation area, ASRC and listing position recorded
  • Landlord consent and Party Wall notices timed
  • Skip, scaffold and parking applications planned

Written allowances and sequence

Settle the commercial terms on paper: the exclusions, a named sum for each item no one can yet see, and the sequence the trades will follow.

  • Provisional sums named item by item
  • VAT treatment stated
  • Building control sign-off included

Being in Bromley or Bickley does not add a fixed surcharge or set the length of the work; those follow from the building and the scope. Ask each builder how VAT is treated and which professional fees, such as drawings or structural calculations, are included or excluded. A single bathroom is standalone work and receives its own quotation, based on that room’s survey and fittings list.

From an idea to a workable scope

Prepare your brief and renovation budget

  1. The address and the building

    Send the full address with the house or flat number: the ASRC boundary, the conservation areas and individual listings all turn on it, not on the street name. Say whether the home is a detached or semi-detached house or a flat, which floor a flat is on, and add photographs of the front, rear, roof and the rooms involved.

  2. Documents you already have

    Share what you hold: the title register or lease, earlier planning decisions, building control completion certificates and any drawings from past work. For a flat, add the building’s rules for works and the managing agent’s contact. If you know of a tree preservation order or a local list entry for the property, mention it here.

  3. Fixed choices and open questions

    Separate what is settled, such as a chosen bathroom suite or rooms to redecorate, from what depends on the survey, our structural engineers or a council decision. Ask for each open item to be priced as a named allowance, described the same way by every builder.

  4. Timing and who arranges what

    Tell us when you need the home back, which rooms must stay in use and whether you will live in during the work. Agree in writing who applies for the skip and scaffold licences, any parking suspension, any Section 61 consent, tree notices and the Building Regulations application.

Ready to take the next step? Send the property address and a short outline of what you want to change.

Discuss your Bromley and Bickley project

Our Hampstead base, serving Bromley and Bickley

Talk to our Finchley Road studio

Our studio is in Hampstead on Finchley Road, at NW3 6DN. We serve Bromley and Bickley from this office. Bring us the practical questions about your house, flat or bathroom and the result you want to achieve.

Contact the studio to discuss your brief and arrange the next step. If you already have drawings, a lease or planning correspondence, tell us what is available.

Book a free feasibility visit
Hampstead Renovations
Unit 3, Palace Court
250 Finchley Road
London NW3 6DN

020 7101 3168
contact@hampsteadrenovations.co.uk

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Questions before you begin

Renovating in Bromley and Bickley: practical answers

Will you renovate a single bathroom in a Bickley or Bromley home?

Yes. A standalone bathroom renovation is welcome in a house or a flat, with no other rooms involved. Useful first details are the floor the bathroom is on, the room beneath it, the likely route of its waste to the stack and the present window and ventilation; a handful of photographs and approximate measurements will do. Installing a bathroom with plumbing can need Building Regulations approval, and in a flat the lease may require the landlord’s consent before the layout changes.

When Building Regulations approval is needed · LEASE: alterations and home improvements

Is my house in a conservation area or in the Bickley Area of Special Residential Character?

Check the council’s interactive map for the exact address, which shows conservation areas and whether a property is listed or locally listed. Bickley Park and Mavelstone Road, Bickley are conservation areas; the Area of Special Residential Character is a separate Local Plan designation, running roughly from the railway south of Bickley Park Road to Chislehurst Road, with an enclave around Merlewood Drive. The 2019 Local Plan list of conservation areas is not complete, because areas can be added during the plan’s life.

Bromley Council: conservation areas, the interactive map and the appraisals adopted on 25 June 2025 · Planning Data: Bickley Park conservation area · Planning Data: Mavelstone Road, Bickley conservation area · Bromley Local Plan, adopted 16 January 2019: policy document

What does the Bickley Article 4 direction remove, and which buildings are listed?

The direction for the Bickley Area of Special Residential Character, in effect since 15 March 2022, removes the right to add storeys to a house and the rights to build new homes on top of existing buildings; it does not cover ordinary extensions. Listing is building by building: the Church of St George, 35A Chislehurst Road, Bickley Court and Crosshand in Bickley Park, and Stotfold in Mavelstone Road, are all Grade II, and listed building consent can extend to internal work as well as external.

Bromley Council: Article 4 direction, Bickley Area of Special Residential Character (sealed 15 March 2021, in effect from 15 March 2022) · Planning Data: Bickley Area of Special Residential Character Article 4 direction · Planning Data: Church of St George, Bickley (Grade II) · Planning Data: 35A Chislehurst Road, Bickley (Grade II) · Planning Data: Bickley Court (Grade II) · Planning Data: Crosshand (Grade II) · Planning Data: Stotfold, Mavelstone Road conservation area (Grade II) · Historic England: listed-building consent

Can I replace the windows on a Bickley or Bromley house?

It depends on the building, so establish the route first. On a listed building, new windows can need listed building consent. No document on the council’s Article 4 list is named for the Bickley Park, Mavelstone Road or Bromley Town Centre conservation areas, but confirm the position on the map for the address. In a flat, householder permitted development rights do not apply, so a change to the outside that counts as development needs planning permission, and the lease may also need the landlord’s consent. Survey the existing windows before choosing repair or replacement.

Historic England: listed-building consent · Bromley Council: Article 4 directions made in the borough · Bromley Council: conservation areas, the interactive map and the appraisals adopted on 25 June 2025 · Householder permitted development technical guidance · LEASE: alterations and home improvements

Who must agree before a Bromley flat is refitted inside?

Start with the lease. Depending on its terms, LEASE explains, you might need your landlord’s permission before altering the flat, even with planning permission or Building Regulations approval already in place. Work that stays inside the flat is generally not development, so planning permission rarely arises, but new bathroom plumbing can need Building Regulations approval, and in a listed building, listed building consent can apply to internal work.

LEASE: alterations and home improvements · When planning permission is required · When Building Regulations approval is needed · Historic England: listed-building consent

Can a wall come out or a bathroom move in a Bickley house?

It can, after checks. Our structural engineers confirm what a wall carries before it is removed. In a semi-detached house, cutting into the party wall can mean serving notice on the neighbour. A moved bathroom needs a workable fall from its waste to the stack, and in a flat that stack may be shared and the lease may require consent. Plumbing for the moved room can need Building Regulations approval, and in a listed house the move may need listed building consent.

Party-wall work requiring notice · LEASE: alterations and home improvements · When Building Regulations approval is needed · Historic England: listed-building consent

Could a Bromley house gain a basement or a lower floor?

Possibly, but treat it as a planning question from the start: the planning Act’s exception for interior works does not cover works that add space below ground. Check trees early, as Bromley has over 2,000 tree preservation orders and conservation-area trees above the size threshold need six weeks’ notice before work, while the ASRC guidelines ask for mature trees to be kept wherever possible. Party Wall notice can be needed where the dig goes near and below next door’s foundations, and it is worth checking the address’s long-term flood risk.

legislation.gov.uk: Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 55, meaning of development · Bromley Council: tree protection and tree preservation orders · Bromley Council: trees in conservation areas · Bromley Local Plan, adopted 16 January 2019: policy document · Party-wall work requiring notice · Check long-term flood risk in England

How early and how late can noisy work run in Bromley and Bickley?

The council’s normal hours for noisy construction work are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and 8am to 1pm on Saturday, with no noisy operations on Sundays or bank holidays. Where an emergency or special circumstances justify work outside those hours, the contractor may apply for prior consent under Section 61 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974. In a flat, read the lease’s rules for works first, and let neighbours know before the noisiest stages.

Bromley Council: construction and demolition noise · LEASE: alterations and home improvements

What should every quotation for Bromley work include?

Beyond the rooms, look for the skip licence, which only a skip company on the council’s register can apply for; any scaffolding or hoarding consent; parking bay suspensions, applied for at least three working days ahead; and provisional sums for hidden work. On a red route such as Kentish Way, the council refers skip enquiries to Transport for London. Make sure all of them price one written scope and treat VAT and professional fees alike.

Bromley Council: temporary highway licences for skips · Bromley Council: temporary highway licences for scaffolding · Bromley Council: temporary highway licences for hoardings · Bromley Council: parking dispensations and suspensions

Where is your studio, and how does a Bromley project start?

From this office, our studio at Unit 3, Palace Court, 250 Finchley Road, London NW3 6DN, we serve Bromley and Bickley. A project starts with a message giving the address and house or flat number, the rooms you want to change and a few photographs. Papers such as the lease or earlier drawings can follow once the scope is clearer.

Go deeper where it matters

Guides for your property and project

Explore the relevant property guide, then check the current official sources above for your address and proposed work.

More help with your renovation brief

Client Reviews
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I would like to thank Ross and his team for their consistent commitment to quality and their unerring reliability. They delivered our property to specification and on time, proving to be an extremely effective, experienced, and proactive contractor.

JW
James WardInvestment Director, Belgravia
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We have worked with Ross and his company many times. They are extremely professional and hardworking individuals who can work under any circumstances. There was no variation to the works.

CR
Cirus RehmanFinance Director, Grosvenor Street, Mayfair
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A company where you get value for your money while at the same time achieving excellent quality. Their work is carried out on time and within budget. We've worked with them on multiple projects and they never disappoint.

BI
Brian InghamDirector, Green Evolution Limited
Independent
Surveying
Hampstead Renovations operates alongside Hampstead Chartered Surveyors & Building Consultancy — an RICS Regulated firm providing chartered building surveying, fire safety and project advisory services, under shared directorship. Both practices are based in Hampstead NW3, giving Bromley and Bickley clients access to professional oversight from survey through to handover.
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Chislehurst Beckenham Petts Wood All South East London areas
Design-Build in Bromley and Bickley

Looking for a Local Builder in Bromley and Bickley?

One team, one contract — from feasibility drawing to handover photograph. RIBA chartered architects, IStructE chartered engineers, surveying support through Hampstead Chartered Surveyors, and our own build teams, all under a fixed-price design-build contract.

View Our Refurbishment Company
South East London areas
Areas we serve in South East London →

Bromley and Bickley is one of the South East London areas we now serve from our Hampstead studio. For the wider service, see our London refurbishment company page.

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