A full renovation touches structure, services and finishes in one programme, so the order of the work matters as much as the work itself. GS Renovation runs it as one contractor with one point of contact, appointing the structural engineer wherever the structure changes and coordinating building control. We are fully insured, and quotations are free and carry no obligation.
What the New Town designation left in the housing stock
Hatfield was designated a new town on 20 May 1948 under the New Towns Act 1946, over a designated area of 948 hectares. The population at designation was 8,500 and the target population set was 25,000, so the town was planned to grow to about three times its size.
The development corporation for the new town was wound up on 31 March 1966. That gives the corporation era a defined beginning and end. What a given house is actually built from is still established by survey and by opening up, rather than assumed from the period it belongs to.
The airfield years and the housing that came after
Flying commenced at Hatfield aerodrome in 1930. British Aerospace announced in 1992 that aircraft production at Hatfield would cease from 1993, and Friday 8 April 1994 was Hatfield's last day as an airfield.
The former airfield site is now divided between the University of Hertfordshire, housing and a business park, and the flight test hangar survives as a leisure centre. Housing on and around that site belongs to a later construction generation than the corporation stock, so a renovation specification is set property by property.
Old Hatfield, and what heritage status changes
Welwyn Hatfield borough has ten conservation areas, and the Old Hatfield historic core is the only one inside Hatfield. It was designated in 1968. Inside it, external changes that would be permitted development elsewhere become an application to the council.
Fore Street in Old Hatfield carries 15 separate entries on the National Heritage List for England, all at Grade II, and Hatfield House is listed at Grade I under list entry 1173363. Listed building consent is separate from planning permission and reaches internal work, so a renovation in a listed home starts with the consent rather than the schedule.
Checking what has already been consented
Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council publishes a searchable planning applications register at planning.welhat.gov.uk, with a basic search by application number or address and an advanced search. Applications are assessed against the Welwyn Hatfield Local Plan 2016 to 2036, adopted on 12 October 2023, and the council is preparing a new local plan running to 2043.
One further control catches converted buildings. Article 4 Directions covering employment sites across the borough remove the permitted development right to convert offices to residential accommodation, one of them confirmed on 26 January 2022. They apply to designated employment sites, not to every property in the borough.
- Staircase repair, replacement and balustrade work
- Room by room programme so you can stay in the house
- Kitchen and bathroom design, supply and installation
- Roof repairs, gutters, fascias and rainwater goods
- Structural alterations and load-bearing wall removal
Trusted Home Renovation in Hatfield
We are based at 3 Chauncy Avenue in Potters Bar, about 4.8 miles away, so Hatfield sits inside the area we cover as standard. A renovation runs for weeks rather than days, and the value of a short journey is the visits between the milestones rather than only at them. You deal with one point of contact from quotation to final inspection. Our founder has over 30 years of hands-on experience, the company is registered in England under number 14611254, and it is rated 4.9 from 31 reviews on MyBuilder.
- Registered in England, Companies House no. 14611254
- Aftercare and snagging support once the job is finished
- Kitchen and bathroom selections planned early to hold the programme
- Free, no-obligation quotations
- Paperwork and certificates handed over for when you sell
- Room by room handover so you can move back in stages