Area guide · N14
House Extensions in Southgate (N14)
Planning a house extension in Southgate? We design, gain planning permission and build extensions and loft conversions across N14, from the Edwardian streets around Southgate Green to the 1930s avenues towards Oakwood. Most single-storey rear extensions here cost £45,000–£90,000 to build, applications go to Enfield Council, and outside the conservation areas the prior-approval householder route can take a Southgate semi's single-storey rear to 6m without a full application. Have us round for a free site visit and we'll map your options street by street.
Planning in Southgate
What Enfield Council approves in Southgate and Arnos Grove
Southgate falls across two Enfield wards, and the decisions below come from both. Southgate ward takes in Southgate Circus and the Meadway conservation area. Arnos Grove ward takes in most of the Southgate Green conservation area and all of Abbotshall Avenue's, and its addresses run into N11 and N13 as well as N14. Each card names the route the application went through.
Loft work on the interwar semis comes up again and again: a gable built up where the hip was, with a rear dormer behind it. Some owners confirm that as permitted development with a lawful development certificate. Others apply for householder permission, the usual route once the loft is bundled with work permitted development doesn't cover, such as a two-storey side extension. Single-storey rears, garage conversions, porches and two-storey side extensions make up most of the rest, and the last three almost always go in as householder applications.
The prior-approval route shows up here too — the process that takes a semi from the standard 3m rear extension to a full 6m (8m on detached houses) by consulting the neighbours rather than running a full application. On Southgate's deeper plots it is often a sensible opening move, with a loft conversion as a second phase. Inside the conservation areas it is not available.
A refused certificate isn't the end of a project. It records Enfield's view that the drawings, as submitted, go beyond permitted development, and the same extension can still be applied for as a householder application and judged on its planning merits.
Recent planning decisions around Southgate
Extension, loft and basement applications decided in Enfield's Southgate and Arnos Grove wards, 23 Sep 2025 to 22 Sep 2026.
The newest decisions in those wards
- ApprovedSep 2026
Fountains Crescent, N14
Single storey rear extension 5m deep x 2.76m high (2.65m high to eaves).
26/03280/PRH · Enfield CouncilPrior approval, larger home extension
- ApprovedSep 2026
Imber Close, N14
Extension of roof to side to form gable, rear dormer and front roof lights.
26/02264/CEA · Enfield CouncilLawful development certificate
- ApprovedAug 2026
Bourne Avenue, N14
Single storey rear/side extension.
26/02800/HOU · Enfield CouncilHouseholder application
- ApprovedAug 2026
Selborne Road, N14
Rear dormer, involving gable end roof extension, roof lights to front, changes to first floor fenestration at side and installation of…
26/02096/HOU · Enfield CouncilHouseholder application
- ApprovedAug 2026
Oakwood Crescent, N21
Extension of roof to side to form gable with flank window, rear dormer and front roof lights.
26/02263/CEA · Enfield CouncilLawful development certificate
- ApprovedAug 2026
Ridgemead Close, N14
Single storey rear side in fill extension, part conversion of garage and changes to side facades.
26/02419/CEA · Enfield CouncilLawful development certificate
- ApprovedAug 2026
Avenue Road, N14
Extension to existing front entrance porch.
26/02330/HOU · Enfield CouncilHouseholder application
- RefusedAug 2026
Brookdale, N11
Single storey rear extension.
26/02453/CEA · Enfield CouncilLawful development certificate
Look a reference up on the council’s own register: Enfield Council planning search.
Source: GLA Planning London Datahub, 23 Sep 2025 – 22 Sep 2026. Data updated September 2026. This list last changed 23 September 2026. The datahub can lag a council’s own register by a few weeks.
These are council decisions on applications in these wards, shown as local planning context. They are not necessarily projects undertaken by us, and they are not our approval rate. Planning outcomes depend on your specific property and proposal.
Local knowledge
Southgate's housing stock — and what works on each
Southgate's landmark is Charles Holden's circular 1933 station, listed at Grade II*. The houses around it split into three distinct types, and each suits different work.
The Edwardian streets around Southgate Green. Handsome bay-fronted houses on mature roads. The classic plays here: a side-return extension (£35,000–£65,000) reclaiming the dead alley beside the kitchen, a wrap-around (£70,000–£140,000) for a complete ground-floor rethink, and a loft conversion with rear dormer making use of the generous Edwardian roof. Party wall agreements feature on the tighter plots; we run that process for you.
The 1930s belt towards Oakwood. Hipped-roof semis on wide avenues. The 6m prior-approval rear extension (£45,000–£90,000) and the hip-to-gable loft with rear dormer (£55,000–£90,000) are the two big moves on this stock, one adding ground-floor space and the other a bedroom. The roof side is covered in more depth in our guide to loft conversions in Southgate. The quiet bargain on these avenues is the garage conversion (£18,000–£35,000) — many of the 1930s houses have an attached garage storing little but paint, and converting one adds a study or playroom in four to six weeks.
The Lakes Estate, between Fox Lane and Bourne Hill. Southgate's celebrated Edwardian enclave, straddling the border with Palmers Green — and a conservation area, where permitted development rights are restricted. Extensions are still possible here; they simply go through as full applications with proper care on materials, rooflines and detailing. We treat that as a design brief, not a barrier.
Every street is different. That's the point.
We design to Southgate's stock and to what the council demonstrably approves — not to a template. A free site visit tells you what your house can take.
Get my free estimateArnos Grove and Southgate Green
Enfield decides both halves of Southgate, but on the Arnos Grove side the rules change within a few streets. Southgate Green and Abbotshall Avenue are both conservation areas, and planning.data.gov.uk, the government's planning data service, maps an Enfield Article 4 direction over each of them.
That matters for the projects Southgate owners ask about most. In any conservation area a rear dormer, a side extension or a rear extension of more than one storey needs a householder application, and the 6m prior-approval rear is off the table. An Article 4 direction then takes away further permitted development rights; which ones depends on the wording of the direction, so we read it against your address before anything is drawn. Meadway, on the Southgate ward side, has its own Article 4 direction, while Southgate Circus is a conservation area with no direction of its own on the national map.
Outside those boundaries, Arnos Grove ward's decisions look much like Southgate ward's — hip-to-gable lofts and single-storey rears — with 6m rears under prior approval taking a bigger share.
An N14 postcode doesn't settle which council you apply to. The postcode crosses into Barnet on the Brunswick Park side, and houses there go to Barnet Council, with its own conservation areas and Article 4 directions. Arnos Grove ward's N11 streets sit near the same borough line, so the council is the first thing we confirm for any address. Our guide to house extensions across North London sets Enfield's rules next to Barnet's and Haringey's.
Kitchen extensions in Southgate
A Southgate kitchen extension takes one of two shapes, and which one fits depends on the house you own.
On the 1930s semis towards Oakwood, the original kitchen tends to be a small room at the back, next to a separate dining room. A single-storey rear extension across the width of the house joins the two into one kitchen-diner that opens onto the garden. Permitted development covers 3m of depth on a semi without an application, and the prior-approval route stretches that to 6m — room for an island and a dining table as well as the kitchen run.
On the Edwardian houses around Southgate Green and the Lakes Estate, the kitchen sits in the narrow back addition with an alley running beside it. Building into that alley as a side return gives a full-width kitchen; adding a rear section at the same time makes it a wrap-around, which needs planning permission. In Southgate's conservation areas, side extensions are not permitted development and the 6m prior-approval route is off the table, so a side-return or deeper rear kitchen there needs a householder application.
The kitchen extension line in the cost table below includes a mid-range kitchen. For layouts and where to move the sink and hob, see our kitchen extensions page.
Honest numbers
What a house extension costs in Southgate in 2026
These are North London baseline build ranges, and they apply across N14 — labour and materials to a good standard, excluding VAT, professional fees and kitchen fit-out:
| Extension type | North London baseline costs (apply across N14) | On-site time | Usual planning route |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side-return extension | £35,000 – £65,000 | 2–3 months | Often permitted development |
| Single-storey rear | £45,000 – £90,000 | 3–4 months | Often permitted development |
| Kitchen extension (incl. mid-range kitchen) | £55,000 – £110,000 | 3–4 months | Often permitted development |
| Hip-to-gable loft + rear dormer | £55,000 – £90,000 | 6–10 weeks | Usually permitted development |
| Wrap-around extension | £70,000 – £140,000 | 4–6 months | Full application |
| Double-storey rear | £75,000 – £160,000 | 5–7 months | Full application |
| Garage conversion | £18,000 – £35,000 | 4–6 weeks | Usually permitted development |
As a rule of thumb, Southgate builds at £2,800–£4,200 per square metre — standard North London rates. Spec is the biggest lever — glazing, flooring and the kitchen itself move the total far more than the postcode does. After the free site visit we put everything in writing as a fixed, itemised quote: what's printed there is what you'll actually pay, to the penny.
Permissions, handled
Planning permission in Southgate — what you need to know
Most Southgate extensions don't need a full planning application. On a semi or terrace, permitted development lets a rear extension run 3m deep without an application; a detached house gets 4m. The larger home prior-approval route then lifts those limits to 6m and 8m, though not inside a conservation area. Loft conversions enjoy a generous volume allowance.
Conservation areas are the exception. On the Lakes Estate — the Edwardian roads between Fox Lane and Bourne Hill — permitted development rights are restricted and schemes are judged on conservation criteria: materials, proportions and roof forms matter. N14 also has the Southgate Green, Southgate Circus, Meadway and Abbotshall Avenue conservation areas, so we check your address against Enfield's conservation map as standard before designing.
Timing: count on roughly eight weeks for Enfield to determine a standard householder application; prior-approval cases often conclude sooner. Allow a further 4–8 weeks before submission for design and drawings — worth building into any timeline that's supposed to end with a finished kitchen by Christmas.
Party walls: semis and terraces dominate Southgate, so the Party Wall Act applies to most projects — budget £1,000–£2,500 per affected neighbour where surveyors are appointed, and open the conversation early. We serve the notices as part of the job.
Paperwork that pays: for permitted development projects we secure a Lawful Development Certificate, so your extension stands up to any scrutiny when you sell.
How it works
How it works
- Free site visit — we come to your Southgate house, hear what you're hoping for, and give you an honest read on feasibility, budget and the right planning route.
- Design & drawings — plans drawn to scale plus 3D visuals, designed around your home and the rhythms of family life inside it.
- Planning, handled — every form, drawing and document goes to Enfield Council under our management, right through to the decision.
- Fixed-price build — our vetted North London team builds it out, secures building control sign-off and hands over a tidy finished space.
Our work
Recent work near Southgate
A few miles from Southgate, in Hadley Wood, our build team carried out a full house transformation that took a family home from 120m² to 360m². You can see it in our Hadley Wood case study; tell us your plans at the site visit and we'll talk through the work closest to what you have in mind for your N14 house.
Questions, answered
Southgate extension FAQs
What will an extension cost me in Southgate?
£45,000–£90,000 covers most single-storey rear builds; lofts run £55,000–£90,000 and double-storey schemes £75,000–£160,000, all excluding VAT and fees. N14 builds at standard North London rates of £2,800–£4,200/m², and we quote fixed after a free site visit.
I'm on the Lakes Estate — can I still extend?
Yes. Conservation status restricts permitted development, so your scheme goes in as a full application judged on design quality — sympathetic materials, correct proportions, considered rooflines. Well-mannered schemes do get approved; ours are designed that way from the first sketch.
What exactly is a prior-approval extension?
A streamlined route for larger single-storey rears — up to 6m on a semi, 8m on a detached house — where Enfield consults your neighbours rather than assessing a full application. It isn't available in a conservation area, so on the Lakes Estate or around Southgate Green a deeper rear extension needs a full householder application instead.
Does the listed station change anything for my house?
No — the Grade II* listing protects Holden's station building itself, not the surrounding housing. Your project is governed by normal householder rules unless your own street carries a designation, which we check against the council's conservation map before designing.
How long does Enfield take to decide?
Around eight weeks for a standard householder application, and prior-approval cases often conclude sooner. The drawings come first, so the design stage needs to be in your timeline too.
Which extension adds most value to an Edwardian house near Southgate Green?
Usually the side-return or wrap-around — turning a narrow galley kitchen into a full-width kitchen-diner transforms how these houses live — with a rear-dormer loft adding a bedroom without losing garden. We'll prioritise by value at the site visit.
What we build in Southgate
The same team designs, gets planning and builds — one fixed, itemised price whichever route your Southgate project takes.
Nearby areas we cover
What clients say
Rated 5.0 on Google
“The Extension Company built a 5m single storey rear extension on our Victorian terrace in Crouch End. Went down the permitted development route so no planning application needed, which they explained up front and saved us months. Kitchen-diner now opens onto the garden with sliding doors. £87k all in, matched the quote.”
“From the initial site visit onwards to my property in Barnet, we felt that the team actually listened to what we wanted. They suggested a few changes to the layout that we hadn't considered, and those changes have made a huge difference. Would definitely use again and recommend”
“Used The Extension Company for a loft conversion on our semi detached in Barnet and couldn't be happier. They explained what was possible at the first visit, sorted the planning side, and gave a fixed price with no surprises at the end. The hip-to-gable and rear dormer gave us a big double bedroom with an en-suite. Tidy, professional and finished on schedule. Would recommend to anyone in North London thinking about a loft conversion.”
“We had been putting off our loft conversion for years because the whole process felt overwhelming. The team made it much easier than expected and handled the drawings, planning and build for us. We now have a lovely extra bedroom and shower room.”
“Our wrap-around extension has completely transformed the ground floor. We now have the open plan kitchen and family space we wanted without losing all of the garden. Thanks to everyone involved.”
“Really pleased with the work from The Extension Company. We had our extension done in Hampstead and the whole experience was excellent. Great communication from start to finish, The quality of the finish is excellent and we’re really happy with the result. Would definitely recommend them if you’re thinking about an extension.”
Reviews shown word for word from our Google profile. See 9 more client reviews · Read all 16 reviews on Google
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