Amersham is two towns of different ages, and a whole house renovation runs differently in each. Amersham-on-the-Hill did not exist as a settlement before its railway station opened in 1892. Across the two areas covering the town, the Valuation Office Agency counts 7,670 dwellings, 2,430 of them built before 1945.
Two towns of different ages
Amersham-on-the-Hill did not exist as a settlement before the opening of its railway station in 1892, and the council records that it began to grow in earnest after the First World War. The Metropolitan Railway Country Estates Company bought 78 acres at Amersham in 1929 and began building the Weller Estate in 1931 or 1932, the last of the Metroland estates and the furthest from London.
The numbers follow the history. Across the two areas covering Amersham the Valuation Office Agency counts 7,670 dwellings, of which 2,430 were built before 1945. A renovation programme has to be written around what the fabric actually is, so we survey before we price.
Renovating inside the Old Town conservation area
The designation is long standing and heavily listed. Amersham Old Town Conservation Area was designated in 1969 and its boundary was amended in 1992, and the council's own leaflet records 151 listed buildings within it. Listed building consent is a separate application from planning permission and from building regulations.
Roof lines there are part of the character. The council's appraisal notes that the height of the eaves above the pavement varies considerably, creating undulating roof lines punctuated by an assortment of dormer windows which give some buildings a third storey. That is the context the council applies to any external change you propose.
Roof alterations in the interwar conservation areas
Both appraisals say what is acceptable. On the Weller Estate the council asks that any windows put into visible roofslopes are rooflights or small dormers with hipped and tiled roofs. Large or flat roofed dormers, it says, would disrupt the sweeping lines of the roof. In Elm Close it says large or flat roofed dormer windows and large rooflights should not be constructed in front roofslopes.
Adopted Policy H18 backs that up across the former Chiltern district, which includes Amersham. It states that any dormer window which is flat roofed and excessively large in width or height in relation to the roof it sits in will be refused.
Materials have to match
Adopted Policy H15 requires that the external materials, windows and doors of an extension match or harmonise with those of the existing dwelling. In Elm Close the existing is unusual. The council describes houses two storeys high, built of pale grey and brown concrete blocks with brown tiled roofs, virtually all unpainted with exposed blockwork. Matching that is a sourcing exercise, and it belongs at the start of a renovation rather than the end.
- Loft, floor and wall insulation upgrades
- Cornice, skirting and period feature restoration
- Project management from first survey to final handover
- Central heating upgrades, new radiators and pipework
- Damp treatment, tanking and timber repairs
The GS Renovation Difference in Amersham
Because a renovation needs one contractor holding the whole programme, and we travel for that work. Amersham is around 18 miles from our base in Potters Bar, so we plan the job in continuous phases rather than scattered visits. One point of contact runs the engineer, the trades and the Buckinghamshire Council inspections. We are fully insured, quotations are free and carry no obligation, and we are rated 4.9 from 31 reviews on MyBuilder.
- Waste cleared as we go, not left piled in the garden
- A snagging list agreed and worked through before handover
- Founder-led team with 30+ years of hands-on experience
- Photographs kept at each stage for your records
- Notifiable electrical work certified under Part P
- Clean, tidy and reliable tradespeople