Region guide · Enfield · Barnet · Haringey
House extensions in North London, borough by borough
North London house extensions are designed, managed and built by Pine Grove's own team, across five councils: Enfield, Barnet and Haringey, with Camden and Hackney along the southern edge. Each keeps its own conservation areas and its own local rules, and each has its own record of what it approves and refuses.
This page takes them one at a time: what Enfield, Barnet and Haringey decided over the last year, the local rules to check before anything is drawn, and the area guide for every North London town we cover.
Who builds it
Who builds your North London extension
North London projects are designed, managed and built by Pine Grove's own team. The Extension Company is the extensions studio of Pine Grove Design & Build Ltd (company number 13133967, registered in England & Wales), so the company that surveys your house, draws the scheme and takes it through planning is the company on site when it is built.
That counts most on the awkward jobs: a house on a council boundary, a conservation area where the brick and joinery have to match the drawings, or a loft where the planning route shapes the design. One team carries it from the first visit to handover, on one fixed, itemised price.
Enfield Council
Enfield: Southgate, Winchmore Hill and the EN postcodes
Which council decides where
Enfield decides Southgate, Oakwood, Winchmore Hill, Palmers Green, Edmonton, Enfield Town and Hadley Wood. Hadley Wood is the one to watch: it shares the EN4 postcode with East Barnet, but Enfield decides it. Cockfosters is split: Enfield decides the Trent Park side and the streets around the station, and Barnet the avenues further west, around Games Road and Mount Pleasant.
Local rules to check
- Conservation areas: Southgate Green, Winchmore Hill Green, Grange Park, Bush Hill Park, Enfield Town, Hadley Wood and Trent Park are among them.
- Article 4 directions: Enfield has directions that remove permitted development rights in several of its conservation areas, including Southgate Green, Winchmore Hill, Grange Park, Bush Hill Park and Hadley Wood. If your house is inside one, check which rights the direction covers before counting on permitted development.
- Green belt: the north of the borough, Trent Park and Crews Hill included, is green belt. An extension there is judged by its size against the original house.
Enfield Council decisions
| Decided | Approved | Refused |
|---|---|---|
| 1,462 | 1,245 | 217 |
Barnet Council
Barnet: from Finchley and Hendon out to the green belt
Which council decides where
Barnet decides Barnet itself, East and New Barnet, Arkley, Monken Hadley, Whetstone, Totteridge, the three Finchleys, Friern Barnet, Hendon, Golders Green, Mill Hill, Edgware and Hampstead Garden Suburb. At Edgware the High Street is the line: houses to the west of it go to Harrow. The western fringe of Muswell Hill is Barnet too, although most of Muswell Hill is Haringey.
Local rules to check
- Hampstead Garden Suburb: two consents, one from the Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust and one from Barnet. The Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust guide explains how the two run side by side.
- Conservation areas: Monken Hadley, Totteridge, Mill Hill, Wood Street, Finchley Church End, Finchley Garden Village, Moss Hall Crescent, Golders Green, Hendon Church End and Hendon The Burroughs are among them.
- Article 4 directions: parts of Monken Hadley, Totteridge, Mill Hill, Wood Street, Finchley Church End, Finchley Garden Village, Moss Hall Crescent, Hendon The Burroughs and Hampstead Garden Suburb are covered. Each of these lists the right to enlarge the house (Part 1, Class A) among the rights it takes away, so check the direction for your address before relying on permitted development.
- Green belt: it wraps around Arkley, Totteridge and the Mill Hill ridge, where the same test of proportion to the original house applies.
Barnet Council decisions
| Decided | Approved | Refused |
|---|---|---|
| 1,750 | 1,335 | 415 |
Haringey Council
Haringey: Muswell Hill, Highgate, Crouch End and Tottenham
Which council decides where
Haringey decides Muswell Hill, Highgate, Crouch End, Hornsey, Wood Green and Tottenham. Two edges need checking. The west side of Highgate village falls to Camden, and the western fringe of Muswell Hill to Barnet.
Local rules to check
- Conservation areas: Muswell Hill, Fortis Green, Rookfield, Highgate, Crouch End, Stroud Green, Hornsey High Street, Noel Park, Wood Green Common and Bruce Castle are among them.
- Article 4 directions: the only Haringey directions planning.data.gov.uk maps are on employment land, so check the council's own Article 4 list for your street before relying on permitted development.
- Inside a conservation area: the national limits still bite. Side extensions and roof enlargements such as dormers fall outside permitted development, so a side return or a loft dormer on a conservation area terrace needs a planning application.
Haringey Council decisions
| Decided | Approved | Refused |
|---|---|---|
| 710 | 643 | 67 |
Haringey area guides
The southern edge
The Camden and Hackney edges
North London's southern edge crosses into two more councils, each with rules of its own.
Camden: Hampstead and the west side of Highgate
Hampstead (NW3) and the west side of Highgate village are decided by Camden. Camden's Article 4 direction on basements, confirmed on 3 October 2016, restricts basement extensions under permitted development, and planning.data.gov.uk maps it across the whole borough. The Hampstead conservation area carries further Article 4 directions on particular houses, and Highgate Village, Holly Lodge Estate, South Hill Park and Redington Frognal are conservation areas too.
Hackney: Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington (N16) is decided by Hackney. The Stoke Newington, Clissold Park, Northwold & Cazenove and Lordship Park conservation areas all sit in and around N16. planning.data.gov.uk has no Article 4 data for Hackney, so check the council's own list before relying on permitted development.
Camden area guides
Hackney area guides
There is no decision table for Camden or Hackney. The datahub's Camden feed carried no lawful development certificates in this window, so a Camden table would not compare like for like with the boroughs above; Hackney is here for Stoke Newington only, so its figures are kept ward by ward rather than as a borough total.
The Hertfordshire border
For houses over the border in Hertfordshire, see the full list of areas.
Local knowledge
What North London houses take
Two kinds of house come up again and again in North London, and they want different things.
The 1930s semi. Oakwood, Cockfosters and large parts of Southgate, Winchmore Hill, Edgware, Mill Hill and outer Barnet were built out between the wars: bay-fronted semis with hipped roofs, a side passage or garage, and long gardens. The usual moves are a hip-to-gable loft with a rear dormer, a two-storey side extension along the old garage line, and a full-width kitchen extension across the back. Outside conservation areas the loft and the rear extension can often go through permitted development or a lawful development certificate. A two-storey side extension always needs planning permission.
The Victorian and Edwardian terrace. Muswell Hill, Crouch End, Hornsey, Wood Green, Palmers Green and Stoke Newington are mostly terraces and tall semis from before the First World War, with a narrow passage beside the back addition. Here the ground floor opens up with a side return extension or a wrap-around, and the loft goes into an L-shaped dormer over the main roof and the back addition.
The protected streets. The historic cores of Monken Hadley, Totteridge, Highgate and Hampstead are conservation areas, where the shortcuts fall away and design quality decides the application. The conservation area guide covers what changes. Hampstead Garden Suburb adds the Trust's own consent on top of Barnet's. And on the green belt around Arkley, Totteridge and Trent Park, extending in the green belt comes down to proportion against the original house.
Not sure which council, or which route?
A free site visit settles both for your house: who decides it, what applies on your street, and whether permitted development, a certificate or a full application suits the scheme.
Book my free site visitWhat we build
What we build across North London
Whatever the house, the brief usually comes down to one of five things: a rear extension, a double-storey extension, a kitchen extension, a loft or, on a terrace, a side return extension that fills the passage beside the back addition.
Rear extensions in North London
On a 1930s semi in Southgate, Edgware or outer Barnet, the rear extension runs the full width of the flat back wall and turns a small back kitchen and the dining room into one room. On a Victorian or Edwardian terrace it pushes out past the end of the back addition, and often takes in the side passage as well. Away from conservation areas and Article 4 directions, many need no householder application: they go through as permitted development, or as a larger-home prior approval for a deeper single storey. Our page on rear extensions in North London sets out the shapes, the costs and each planning route.
Double storey extensions in North London
Across Edgware, Mill Hill, Whetstone and East Barnet, many interwar semis have a side passage or a narrow garage beside the house, and building up over that strip is the usual route to a fourth bedroom. The other common shape is a part single, part two storey extension across the back, with the upstairs section kept to the detached side of the house. A two-storey side extension always needs planning permission, and on a hipped 1930s roof it is worth drawing it alongside any hip-to-gable loft, because both change the same side of the roof. Our page on double storey extensions in North London covers both shapes, Barnet's design guidance and the costs.
Kitchen extensions in North London
Most North London kitchen extensions take one of three shapes: a full-width rear extension on a semi, a side return on a terrace, or a wrap-around that does both. When the kitchen moves into the new room, the drainage, gas and extraction runs are settled on the drawings before anyone starts on site, and building over or within 3 metres of a public sewer needs Thames Water's agreement first. In Southgate Green, Winchmore Hill Green, Muswell Hill and the other conservation areas, a side return or a deep rear kitchen needs a householder application. Our page on kitchen extensions in North London covers the three types, their costs and the planning routes.
Loft conversions
A loft conversion adds a floor without touching the garden. Our guide to loft conversions in North London takes Barnet, Enfield and Haringey's loft decisions one council at a time, and the towns below each have a local loft guide.
Local loft conversion guides
- Loft conversions in BarnetEN5 & EN4
- Loft conversions in EnfieldEN1–EN2
- Loft conversions in SouthgateN14
- Loft conversions in FinchleyN3
- Loft conversions in Muswell HillN10
- Loft conversions in Palmers GreenN13
- Loft conversions in Winchmore HillN21
- Loft conversions in EdgwareHA8
- Loft conversions in HendonNW4
- Loft conversions in CockfostersEN4
Costs
What extensions cost in North London
The price turns on size, structure and finish, so this page does not put one figure on it. Our guide to what extensions cost in North London sets out costs by extension type, by size and by area, and a free site visit turns that into a fixed, itemised quote for your house.
Across London
Beyond North London
North London comes first, but we take on projects across London. Every area we cover has its own guide, from Walthamstow and Chingford in the east to Richmond and Wimbledon Village in the south-west.
Questions, answered
North London extension FAQs
Which council decides my extension?
The one whose boundary your house sits inside, which is not always the one your postcode suggests. Hadley Wood is EN4 but decided by Enfield. In Cockfosters the avenues west of the station, around Games Road and Mount Pleasant, are Barnet's, the west side of Highgate village is Camden, and in Edgware the houses west of the High Street are Harrow. The council for your exact address is confirmed before anything is drawn.
Do I need planning permission for a rear extension?
Not always. Outside conservation areas and Article 4 areas, a single-storey rear extension of up to 3m on an attached house, or 4m on a detached one, is usually permitted development, and the larger-home prior approval route stretches that to 6m and 8m. In a conservation area the larger-home route does not apply, and where an Article 4 direction removes the right to extend, even a modest rear extension needs a planning application.
Is a lawful development certificate worth getting?
Yes, when the work is permitted development. The certificate is the council's written confirmation that the scheme is lawful, and a buyer's solicitor will usually ask for it when you sell. Our decision tables count certificates alongside planning applications and prior approvals, because that is how many loft and rear extension schemes get approved.
Who builds North London projects?
Pine Grove's own team. The Extension Company is the extensions studio of Pine Grove Design & Build Ltd, so the company that draws your scheme and handles the planning is the company that builds it.
Where do the decision figures come from?
From the GLA Planning London Datahub, which gathers planning decisions from London's councils. We count householder applications, lawful development certificates for proposed works and prior approvals for larger home extensions whose description mentions an extension, loft, dormer, hip to gable, mansard, basement, wraparound, side return or infill. Withdrawn and undetermined applications are left out. Every application counts on its own, so a scheme refused and then approved after changes appears in both columns when both decisions fall inside the window. The datahub can lag a council's own register by a few weeks, so each table links to the council register too.
How long does a householder application take?
The council's target for a householder application is eight weeks from the date it is validated. Most of the time goes into preparation before that: the survey, the drawings and, in a conservation area, a heritage statement.
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
Free site visit
Ready to see what's possible on your street?
Free site visit anywhere in North London, honest feasibility advice and a fixed, itemised price — design, planning and build handled end to end by the Pine Grove team.
020 3051 9430Lines open every day, 9am to 8pm