A whole house renovation touches structure, services and finishes at once, and the order they happen in decides how long you are out of the house. We run it as one programme with one point of contact, appointing a structural engineer where the work needs one and building to their calculations. This page sets out what shapes a renovation in Brentwood, from conservation areas to the town centre design guide.
Brentwood borough has 13 conservation areas, and eight of them have a published appraisal
The 13 are Ingatestone High Street, South Weald, Blackmore, Great Warley, Herongate, Station Lane Ingatestone, Hutton Village, Fryerning, Weald Park, Thorndon Park, Warley Place, Brentwood Town Centre and Highwood Hospital. Whether your address falls inside one is the first thing to establish, because it governs what can change outside.
Brentwood Borough Council publishes appraisals for eight: Blackmore, Brentwood Town Centre, Fryerning, Great Warley, Herongate, Highwood Hospital, Ingatestone High Street and Ingatestone Station Lane. The Hutton Village Conservation Area was designated on 23 April 1986 and the council has published no character appraisal for it. Where there is no appraisal there is less written guidance, so ask the conservation officer before materials are specified.
The Brentwood Town Centre Conservation Area covers a defined set of frontages
It is confined to the High Street frontages and the west end of Shenfield Road. An extension runs south to take in Hart Street, and another embraces the Anglican parish church and the Catholic cathedral as far as Queen's Road. It was created in 2000 by amalgamating three earlier conservation areas: Wilson's Corner, Chapel and Hart Street.
Its appraisal proposes that an Article 4 direction should cover the application of render or cladding to the external walls of a dwellinghouse, or the painting of brickwork. That direction has not been made, so those works are not controlled by one. The proposal still tells you what the council regards as harmful, which is worth knowing before a front elevation is painted.
There are just over 32,000 homes in the borough
The Brentwood Local Plan records just over 32,000 homes in the borough. The population was around 77,000 at the 2021 census, up from just over 73,600 in 2011. In a borough of that size you will gather several quotations, and they will not all cover the same scope.
Compare like with like. A renovation price that leaves out the structural engineer, the building control application, the making good and the waste is not the same price as one that includes them. We set the scope out in writing so you can see what is in and what is not.
There is an adopted design guide for the town centre
The Brentwood Town Centre Design Guide Supplementary Planning Document was adopted on 27 November 2019. A supplementary planning document is a material consideration in planning decisions, so a renovation that changes the outside of a town centre property is judged partly against it.
Reading it before you settle on windows, render or a shopfront alteration costs less than redoing the work afterwards. We build to whatever specification comes out of that process, and we coordinate the building control side of the renovation alongside it.
- Full and partial rewiring, certified under Part P
- Roof repairs, gutters, fascias and rainwater goods
- First and second fix sequenced around a realistic decorating date
- Snagging list agreed and worked through before handover
- Sash window overhaul, draught proofing and secondary glazing
Why Choose GS Renovation in Brentwood
We are based at 3 Chauncy Avenue in Potters Bar, about 22 miles from Brentwood. That is a distance we cover, and being plain about it matters: a Brentwood renovation is planned around full working days on site rather than short visits, and you are told which days those are. Abdelaaziz Saaid, our founder and sole director, has over 30 years of hands on experience and is your single point of contact from the first survey to the completion certificate. We appoint the structural engineer where the work needs one, build to their calculations, and coordinate the building control application and inspections. GS Renovation Ltd is fully insured, registered in England, company number 14611254, and rated 4.9 from 31 reviews on MyBuilder. Quotations are free and without obligation.
- Building control applications and inspections coordinated for you
- One itemised quote covering structure, services and finishes
- Dust screens and floor protection in occupied homes
- Structural engineer instructed and coordinated on your behalf
- Our own trades on site rather than a chain of subcontractors
- Original features protected, repaired or reinstated as you want