A whole house renovation in Potters Bar means working on interwar suburban stock, and the details of that stock set the programme. GS Renovation takes on full renovations here as a contractor, appointing structural engineers where the work is structural and coordinating building control. Quotations are free and carry no obligation.
The dates behind the houses here
The Royds estate is dated precisely. It was built by the builder Edward Hicks, with Oakroyd Avenue constructed first in 1932 and houses in the same style added on Elmroyd Avenue and Baker Street in 1934. If your address is one of those, the estate has a design guide of its own.
The town grew over much the same period. Hertsmere's Royds conservation area appraisal records the population of Potters Bar rising from 1,793 in 1911 to 3,465 in 1931 and 10,265 by 1951. Renovating a house of that age is a sequencing job, because what is behind the plaster is found out on day one rather than on paper.
Roof work in the Royds needs an application
It does, and re-tiling counts. Inside the Royds Article 4 area, planning permission is required for material changes to a roof, including re-tiling and re-roofing, altering gables, and the installation of dormer extensions and rooflights to any roof slope. The Royds design guide states that front dormers will not be permitted as a general rule. It says flat roofed or pill box style dormers on side elevations have a very harmful effect on the architectural quality and appearance of the conservation area, and will not be permitted.
The appraisal names the alterations those rules were written against: box dormer extensions, the squaring off of originally pitched roofs to form gable ends, and extensions over garages, all driven by the need for greater living space. A renovation there is planned around the guide rather than around what a neighbouring street has already done.
Converting the garage
Size decides how straightforward it is. Hertsmere treats a garage as too small for parking a car on three measurements: an internal width of less than 3 metres, an internal depth of less than 4.8 metres and an opening width of less than 2.5 metres. There is a general presumption in favour of converting garages that are too narrow to park a car, because losing them should not add pressure to parking in the area.
Check the conditions before the drawings. Hertsmere Borough Council will check in writing whether a planning condition restricts the use of your garage, and its guidance says the service is free with a response within 10 working days. On the Royds estate a garage was an optional extra costing another £50 when the houses were sold in the 1930s, and garages were later added to houses that lacked them after the post-war boom in car ownership.
If the renovation ends in a house in multiple occupation
The permitted development route for that is being closed. Hertsmere Borough Council made a non-immediate Article 4 Direction on 23 April 2026. It covers the Potters Bar Parkfield, Potters Bar Oakmere, Potters Bar Furzefield and Bentley Heath and The Royds wards. It would remove the right to convert a C3 dwelling to a C4 small house in multiple occupation without planning permission.
The direction would come into force on 6 May 2027 if it is confirmed. Hertsmere states that conversions which took place before the direction was introduced will not retrospectively require planning permission and can continue to operate. Where that is the plan for a house, the timing matters as much as the specification.
- Bespoke joinery, wardrobes and fitted storage
- Structural alterations and load-bearing wall removal
- External rendering, repointing and masonry repair
- Room by room programme so you can stay in the house
- Full and partial rewiring, certified under Part P
Why Choose GS Renovation in Potters Bar
Potters Bar is where we are based. GS Renovation Ltd works from 3 Chauncy Avenue, EN6 5LE, so a renovation in the town is home ground rather than a job we travel to, and site visits during a long programme do not have to be rationed. Our founder, Abdelaaziz Saaid, has over 30 years of hands on experience, and you deal with one point of contact from the first survey to the final inspection. The company is fully insured, registered in England under company number 14611254, and rated 4.9 from 31 reviews on MyBuilder.
- A dedicated project manager from first survey to handover
- A whole-house programme sequenced so no trade doubles back
- Our own trades on site rather than a chain of subcontractors
- Site left safe and secure at the end of every day
- Room by room handover so you can move back in stages
- Waste cleared as we go, not left piled in the garden