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Ealing W5 · House refurbishment

House refurbishment in Ealing

Gabled villas, half-basement semis and garden-estate houses

Ealing Council’s documents record W5’s houses closely: gothic-style villas in the north of the Ealing Common Conservation Area, semi-detached houses with half basements on Windsor Road and at 6–11 The Green, and the family houses of the Brentham Garden Estate. This page follows them into the choices a whole-house refurbishment raises: where Article 4 directions already apply, what the council’s guidance says about rear additions, roofs and sashes, and how listed houses are treated.

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House refurbishment in Ealing at a glance

In July 2020 the council reviewed its W5 conservation areas, and the updates record outside changes made to houses since the appraisals. Mount Park’s recorded timber windows replaced in PVC-U in some cases, mostly at the rear, and some sashes swapped for casements; Montpelier Park’s found white epoxy-coated aluminium frames. Ealing Common’s noted artificial slate on North Common Road and Hamilton Road. Haven Green’s found Victorian stock brick overpainted in several places, though a high number of sashes survive. Brentham’s named large side extensions, large garden outbuildings and double-glazed replacement windows among its changes. Decide each of these early, after checking which conservation area covers the address.

Ealing Council: Mount Park Conservation Area update addendum, July 2020 · Ealing Council: Montpelier Park Conservation Area update addendum, July 2020 · Ealing Council: Ealing Common Conservation Area update addendum, July 2020 · Ealing Council: Haven Green Conservation Area update addendum, July 2020 · Ealing Council: Brentham Garden Estate Conservation Area update addendum, July 2020

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

Approved guide prices

What does a house refurbishment cost in Ealing?

Cost in Ealing 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

W5 house types as the council’s appraisals record them

The appraisals of 2007 to 2009 and the 2020 updates describe these houses street by street. Read each as a record of its year: boundaries changed in November 2025, so check the address against the current map.

In the Ealing Town Centre Conservation Area, the December 2007 appraisal treats Western Road, Oxford Road, Windsor Road and Florence Road, branching north from The Grove, as a residential enclave whose houses mostly date from about 1850 to 1890 and keep a middle-class late Victorian suburban character. On Windsor Road it describes substantial semi-detached houses of three storeys with half basements, some with bays at basement and ground floor. On the south side of The Grove, the same appraisal describes three long terraces reaching four storeys plus a half basement. Check the address: the area was extended in 2025.

Ealing Council: Ealing Town Centre Conservation Area Character Appraisal, December 2007 · Ealing Council: review of conservation areas, including the 19 November 2025 committee decision

Around Haven Green, the March 2008 appraisal describes the semi-detached Victorian houses at 6–11 The Green, south of Castlebar Road, as three storeys plus a half basement, their substantial front yards almost all turned into hardstandings for parking. Mount Park’s 2009 appraisal takes in only the east side of Castlebar Road and places those houses in Haven Green. The 2020 Haven Green update picks out 36–42 Castlebar Road, semi-detached houses from before 1870 with unusual gabled fronts, as an ensemble with a listed pair nearby, and says they should be listed as positive contributors.

Ealing Council: Haven Green Conservation Area Character Appraisal, March 2008 · Ealing Council: Mount Park Conservation Area Character Appraisal, April 2009 · Ealing Council: Haven Green Conservation Area update addendum, July 2020 · Planning Data: 28 and 30 Castlebar Road W5, Grade II, list entry 1189127

In the north of the Ealing Common Conservation Area, the 2020 update describes villa-style houses in a gothic pattern that keep decorated gables, turrets and balconies, high-pitched roofs, patterned brickwork and elaborate pillared porches, and recommends that every house between 1 and 20 North Common Road be treated as a positive contributor. In Montpelier Park, houses on Woodfield Road, Mount Avenue, Helena Road, Montpelier Road, Park Hill and Mount Park Road that the 2009 appraisal showed as locally listed were no longer on the local list by 2020; the update recommended adding them all to its positive contributors.

Ealing Council: Ealing Common Conservation Area update addendum, July 2020 · Ealing Council: Montpelier Park Conservation Area update addendum, July 2020 · Ealing Council: Montpelier Park Conservation Area Character Appraisal, April 2009

Permissions and local rules

Outside a W5 house: directions in force and the guidance on additions

The Grove: a direction made in 2013

What does The Grove direction take out of permitted development?

Ealing Council made an Article 4 direction for The Grove area of the Ealing Town Centre Conservation Area on 23 January 2013. Its published copy leaves the confirmation block blank, though the council lists it. Among the rights it withdraws are alterations to a house that would front a highway, open space or waterway, windows, doors, brickwork, render, pointing and cleaning included; any roof enlargement; hard surfaces; front gates, fences and walls; and solar panels. Its plan is illegible at street level, so ask the council about the address. The 2020 update says it appears to have worked well.

Ealing Council: Article 4 direction for The Grove, Ealing Town Centre, made 23 January 2013 (scanned PDF) · Ealing Council: Article 4 directions · Ealing Council: Ealing Town Centre Conservation Area (residential enclave) update addendum, July 2020

Brentham Garden Estate: the 1976 and 2007 directions

Which changes to a Brentham house need permission?

The council’s page titles this conservation area Brentham Garden Estate W5; check the address. The direction the Secretary of State approved on 29 January 1976 withdraws the rights to enlarge or alter a house, add a porch or a hardstanding, put up gates, fences or walls, make a new access to a road and paint the exterior. The council’s 2008 management plan says it covered minor changes including new windows, doors and roof materials, front and back. A further direction, sealed on 30 March 2007, adds chimneys, front walls and front hard surfaces; its copy shows no confirmation date.

Ealing Council: Brentham Garden Estate Conservation Area (W5) · Ealing Council: Article 4 direction for the Brentham Garden Estate Conservation Area, approved 29 January 1976 (scanned PDF) · Ealing Council: Brentham Garden Estate Conservation Area Management Plan, March 2008 · Ealing Council: Article 4 direction for the Brentham Garden Estate Conservation Area, sealed 30 March 2007 (scanned PDF)

Rear additions: three documents, three figures

How deep can a single-storey rear extension go?

SPD 4, which Ealing Council retains as interim guidance, says a single-storey rear extension up to 3 metres deep and 3 metres high will be acceptable in most cases, if the house has not been extended before and lines up with its neighbour. For conservation areas only, the March 2023 Generic Management Plan gives 4 metres for a detached house and 3 metres otherwise, up to 4 metres high, on the same conditions. Ealing Common’s 2009 management plan calls 3 metres “a good guide”, depending on the house, the neighbour and the roof pitch.

Ealing Council: SPD 4 Residential Extensions (undated; retained as interim guidance) · Ealing Council: supplementary planning guidance retained as interim guidance · Ealing Council: Generic Management Plan for Conservation Areas, March 2023 · Ealing Council: Ealing Common Conservation Area Management Plan, March 2009

Listed houses and the 1984 direction

What changes when the house is listed?

Ealing’s 1984 Article 4 direction on listed buildings names in its W5 schedule listed properties on Castlebar Road, The Common and The Mall, among others, and came into force for each when notice was served on its occupier or owner. Listed building consent is a separate application on top. The council’s register shows that in 2015 it refused listed building consent for a two-storey and part three-storey rear extension, with internal alterations, at a listed house on Castlebar Road. One decision shows how one proposal fared, not a rule.

Ealing Council: Article 4 direction relating to listed buildings within Ealing, 4 May 1984 (scanned PDF) · Ealing Council: search for planning applications (the public planning register) · Historic England: listed-building consent

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

What the work covers

What a whole-house refurbishment here takes in

Roof, loft and chimneys

The roof is surveyed before a loft is drawn. For any house, SPD 4 says rear dormers are generally more acceptable than side dormers, dormers are rarely acceptable on front slopes and the ridge should not be raised for more headroom. In a conservation area, the Generic Management Plan says the council has a clear preference for keeping all principal chimney stacks, and that interlocking and concrete tiles are generally not appropriate unless part of the original design. Ealing building control always requires structural calculations for a loft conversion.

Ealing Council: SPD 4 Residential Extensions (undated; retained as interim guidance) · Ealing Council: Generic Management Plan for Conservation Areas, March 2023 · Ealing Council: building control application forms and charges

Sashes, doors and walls

Each window is surveyed and its condition recorded before repair or replacement is priced. In a conservation area, the 2023 plan says sliding sashes should not be replaced with top-hung windows or casements, that PVC-U and aluminium replacements are not generally acceptable, save for slim-section units in a few stated cases, and that doors should generally be painted timber. It adds that external wall insulation will not normally be acceptable there, though it may be possible on some detached buildings not visually part of a group.

Ealing Council: Generic Management Plan for Conservation Areas, March 2023

Garden, outbuildings and the front

The scope covers the garden as well as the house. Ealing’s Planning New Garden Space SPD, adopted in 2015, names extensions that encroach onto existing gardens as one way garden provision is compromised. In a conservation area, the 2023 plan says garden buildings should comprise a single, modest room, and that bins, bicycles and garden equipment should be kept in discreet places to the side or rear where access allows. Front walls, gates and paths are measured and photographed so that any change to them can be checked first.

Ealing Council: Planning New Garden Space SPD, adopted 9 June 2015 · Ealing Council: Generic Management Plan for Conservation Areas, March 2023

How we work

How we run a Ealing 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 Ealing. 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. Start with the address

    Send the address and anything you know about a conservation area, a listing, a local list entry or an Article 4 direction there. If the house is in Ealing Council’s part of Bedford Park, our Chiswick pages cover it instead. Photographs of the front, the back and the roof show us what survives.

  2. List the outside changes

    Separate the inside work from anything that alters the outside: windows, doors, roofs, chimneys, rear or side additions, the front wall and any parking space. Each outside item may need its own consent, so listing them early lets the drawings and the price follow the same order.

  3. Share the house’s history

    If earlier owners extended the house or divided it into flats, tell us what you know and send any plans and completion certificates. A past extension matters because SPD 4’s rear-extension guidance assumes a house that has not been extended, and a house still in flats changes the route for many outside works.

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 Ealing: questions

Is an Article 4 direction coming for Ealing Common, Haven Green, Montpelier Park or Mount Park?

The council’s Article 4 page lists no conservation-area direction for these four. In February 2022 its Ealing Common consultation proposed, among other things, a direction for replacement windows on front elevations; the 2023 report kept only that one, extended to the proposed additions. The 2023 Haven Green report proposed directions across its whole area, and the Montpelier Park and Mount Park reports proposed none. Any direction needs a separate statutory consultation first, and the council may or may not confirm it. The borough-wide HMO direction and the 1984 listed-buildings direction apply where they apply.

Ealing Council: Article 4 directions · Ealing Council: Ealing Common Conservation Area, public and stakeholder consultation, February 2022 · Ealing Council: Ealing Common, formal consultation on conservation area designation, 2023 · Ealing Council: Haven Green, formal consultation on conservation area designation, 2023 · Ealing Council: Montpelier Park, formal consultation on conservation area designation, 2023 · Ealing Council: Mount Park, formal consultation on conservation area designation, 2023 · Ealing Council: Article 4 directions removing HMO permitted development rights

Can a W5 house split into flats be turned back into a single home?

It can be proposed. The council’s register shows that in 2017 it granted permission, with conditions, for one of the listed houses at 6–9 The Common, then two flats, to become a single house again with a single-storey infill side and rear extension, alongside listed building consent for the inside. In a conservation area, the 2023 plan says the applicant will be encouraged to have regard to, and where appropriate reinstate, original external features of the area’s special character. One decision at one house is not a rule.

Ealing Council: search for planning applications (the public planning register) · Ealing Council: Generic Management Plan for Conservation Areas, March 2023

Could an Ealing house have a basement added?

Possibly. SPD 4 says digging or enlarging a basement needs Building Regulations approval, and that where basements and lightwells are not a traditional feature one can have a significant impact on the house and the street. In a conservation area, the 2023 plan says a basement should not comprise more than one storey, though exceptions may be made on large sites, nor involve excavation under a listed building. In 2010 the council refused listed building consent for a basement spiral wine cellar at one of the listed houses at 6–9 The Common.

Ealing Council: SPD 4 Residential Extensions (undated; retained as interim guidance) · Ealing Council: Generic Management Plan for Conservation Areas, March 2023 · Ealing Council: search for planning applications (the public planning register)

Can a front garden here take a parking space?

Sometimes, if the garden is large enough and access is safe. In a conservation area, SPD 4 says it depends on keeping most of the front boundary and at least part of the garden, for the setting and for drainage. Where the council is minded to approve one, its 2023 plan for conservation areas says it will require, among other things, high-specification materials and a crossover of the minimum width necessary. The 2020 Mount Park update notes long sections of original, early brick boundary wall still standing, which it agrees are positive contributors.

Ealing Council: SPD 4 Residential Extensions (undated; retained as interim guidance) · Ealing Council: Generic Management Plan for Conservation Areas, March 2023 · Ealing Council: Mount Park Conservation Area update addendum, July 2020

Can a hipped roof be turned into a gable?

Usually not on a semi-detached or terraced house. SPD 4 says that where permission is needed such a change will normally be refused, being likely to unbalance the pair or terrace. In a conservation area, the 2023 plan says it will not be permitted as a general rule, although where one of two adjoining semi-detached houses already has a hipped roof extension, proposals for the other will be considered. Ealing’s 2022 Housing Design Guidance, evidence for the draft New Local Plan, not adopted policy, gives the same advice where a hipped roof remains next door.

Ealing Council: SPD 4 Residential Extensions (undated; retained as interim guidance) · Ealing Council: Generic Management Plan for Conservation Areas, March 2023 · Ealing Council: Housing Design Guidance, November 2022 (evidence for the draft New Local Plan, not adopted)

What roof suits a rear extension in Ealing Common?

Ealing Common’s 2009 management plan says a pitched roof will usually be appropriate unless the house is flat-roofed, its slope set by the tiles or slates needed to match the main roof. A flat-roofed extension could sometimes suit, finished with parapets on all sides, tile creasing and brick on edge, and good modern designs, particularly glazed or frameless ones, can be acceptable. On an L-shaped house a conservatory infill may be possible, depending on the neighbour, set back slightly from the end of the wing and without removing the back or side walls entirely.

Ealing Council: Ealing Common Conservation Area Management Plan, March 2009

How much does a house refurbishment cost in Ealing?

It depends on scope. In Ealing, 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 Ealing house

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

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

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