House Extensions Bow

GS Renovation builds extensions on Bow's houses, a minority in an area of flats, from single-storey rear additions to double-storey and wrap-around projects on Victorian and Edwardian terraces. One team handles foundations, steel, roof and fit-out.

In Bow, a single-storey rear extension typically starts from £40,000, or £2,000 to £2,800 per m² (indicative London ranges, Architecture for London, Resi, MyBuilder and Checkatrade, 2026). GS Renovation Ltd, a building contractor based in Potters Bar, does the work in Bow: the structural engineer we appoint designs the structure, we build it, and building control signs it off.

Side-return extensions in Bow terraces

The side return, that narrow strip beside the rear closet wing, is the classic space to reclaim on a Bow terrace. Filling it turns a dark galley kitchen into a wide, light kitchen-diner that runs the full width of the house. The work involves new foundations along the boundary, a steel beam to carry the existing rear wall, and a roof that often includes rooflights or glazing to draw daylight deep into the plan.

Because the extension sits against the boundary with your neighbour, party wall matters almost always apply: you serve the notices as building owner, and we programme the build around them and build to any award. We match new brickwork sympathetically to the original Victorian stock and tie the groundworks in around the closet wing drainage. Every element, from the footings to the final plaster, is inspected under the Building Regulations so your E3 extension is properly signed off.

Housing in Bow

Bow has about 15,000 homes on the Council Tax list: 23% pre-1919, 2% interwar and 75% post-war, with flats making up 81% and houses 19%. Since most homes here are flats, a flat in Bow has no householder permitted development rights, so extending one needs planning permission and the freeholder's consent.

Rear extensions in and around Bow's Tredegar Square area

The Tredegar Square Conservation Area management plan says the scope for rear extensions to be altered is often greater than for roof extensions, and an extension should always be subordinate to the main building. The council's appraisal says that area straddles Mile End and Bow. For a Bow house inside it, subordinate usually means lower and smaller than the house. That test applies where planning permission is needed; a single storey rear extension within permitted development limits needs none unless a planning direction has removed that right. The borough's other conservation areas each have their own adopted appraisal and management guidelines, so the same check applies to them.

Two checks follow once the size is settled. Tower Hamlets Council's householder checklist requires a Flood Risk Assessment for applications in Environment Agency Flood Zone 2 or 3 relating to basement or ground floor extensions. Look up the Bow address on the Environment Agency flood map before the floor level is fixed. Then the levy: a development is potentially liable for CIL if it contains at least 100 square metres of new build floor space or creates one or more new dwellings. A single storey addition to a Bow terrace is normally well below that floor area, and a larger extension to your own home can usually claim the residential extension exemption before work starts.

Planning and permitted development in Bow

Whether your extension is permitted development or needs a full planning application depends on the property, the size and any restrictions on it. Many single-storey rear extensions on Bow terraces fall under permitted development, but larger projects, most double-storey work, and homes in a conservation area or with an Article 4 direction will need permission from Tower Hamlets Council. We assess this at the outset so there are no surprises later.

We coordinate the drawings with your architect or designer, answer the planning team's questions about the build, and separately arrange building control, keeping the two processes clearly distinct. Planning governs what you may build and how it looks from outside; building regulations govern that it is structurally and thermally sound. On Bow's period terraces we build extensions that respect the streetscape while giving you the open, modern living space these homes often lack at the rear.

Kitchen extensions in Bow

81% of homes in Bow are flats, and a flat has no householder permitted development, so a ground-floor flat's kitchen extension needs planning permission from Tower Hamlets Council and the freeholder's consent. Most kitchen extensions here are on the 19% of homes that are houses. The fit-out is priced on its own page, kitchen renovation in Bow; the build figures are in the table above.

Double storey extensions in Bow

Under permitted development a two-storey rear extension can go no more than 3 metres beyond the original rear wall and must stay at least 7 metres from the rear boundary, and in a conservation area it is not permitted development at all. Many gardens are too short for the 7 metre rule, so a double storey extension in Bow often needs planning permission from Tower Hamlets Council. It is a job for the 19% of homes that are houses; a flat cannot add a storey this way. The Tredegar Square Conservation Area management plan says the scope for rear extensions to be altered is often greater than for roof extensions, and an extension should always be subordinate to the main building (council source). Our double storey extension page explains the build, at £1,800 to £2,600 per m² across both floors.

• Wrap-around extensions and infills
• Levels, drainage and landscaping made good around the new build
• Flat and pitched roofs with rooflights or lanterns

VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for Bow North & Fish Island, Bow West and Bow South. Counts rounded by the VOA.

Useful next reading for a house extensions project in Bow: RSJ and steel beam installation in Bow, house extensions across Tower Hamlets, side return infills, a garage conversion instead, house extensions anywhere in London and Bifold vs Sliding Doors.

The GS Renovation Difference in Bow

For a Bow extension you want one team carrying the whole job, and that is what we do: foundations, steel, roof, services and finish, plus the planning and party wall coordination around it. Our founder's 30+ years on the tools means we know how these houses are built, where the drains run and how Tower Hamlets Council assesses applications. Fixed scope, tidy site, signed-off result.

• Permitted development checked before you pay for a planning application
• Building control inspected at foundation, damp course and steel stages
• Neighbours given notice before the noisy stages

Checked by Abdelaaziz Saaid, founder and director of GS Renovation Ltd (Companies House no. 14611254). Structural design is by the consulting engineer appointed to your project.