GS Renovation builds house extensions in Harlow, single storey and two storey, from foundations through to finishes. The structural design comes from an engineer we appoint and we build to the calculations. We coordinate the building control application and inspections, and we work to the consents that apply to your address, which in Harlow can include a covenant consent as well as planning permission.
Covenant consent as well as planning permission
Harlow Council operates a covenant control service, which is easy to miss. It administers restrictive covenants on homes built by Harlow Development Corporation, its agents or developers and sold as private estates, and on homes built for sale by Harlow Council. The council states that the covenants it administers can restrict residential extensions and external alterations, so covenant consent may be needed in addition to planning permission and building control approval. The adopted Harlow Design Guide states that "most homes in the former Harlow New Town have covenants contained in their transfer documents".
The fees are published and non-refundable. Covenant consent for an extension is £125.46 if you apply before the work, and £188.70 retrospectively. For minor alterations, windows and sheds the fees are £61.20 and £93.84. Church Langley is the exception to the service. Only the original developers' covenants apply there, and homes built by Croudace are not administered by the council. Applying before the work is both cheaper and simpler than sorting it out afterwards.
What the Harlow Design Guide expects of an extension
The Harlow Design Guide Supplementary Planning Document was adopted in October 2011, with an addendum adopted in December 2021. Principle DG47 covers residential extensions and Principle DG48 covers rear, side and front extensions. The guide asks that an extension be visually subservient to the original dwelling, achieved through reduced ridge and eaves heights and stepping the elevation back, and says roof types should be determined by the form of the main roof. Designing against that document is more productive than arguing with it.
Two storey rear extensions get particular attention. The guide states that applications for two storey rear extensions to flat backed rear elevations of terraced and semi-detached houses will normally be refused, because they are likely to result in material overshadowing. It also applies a 45 degree rule to determine the overall depth of a two storey rear extension, applied at the second level for a detached house. If your house has a flat backed rear elevation, that steers the brief towards single storey at the back.
The ground your foundations will sit on
Foundation depth follows the ground, and the ground changes across Harlow. The British Geological Survey maps Lowestoft Formation diamicton, a glacial till of Anglian age, as the superficial deposit over parts of Harlow including Mark Hall North, Old Harlow and Katherines. It maps glaciofluvial deposits of Mid Pleistocene sand and gravel over parts of Mark Hall North and Old Harlow. That is a different bearing material from the Lowestoft Formation clay till mapped at Great Parndon and across much of the rest of Harlow.
In the Stort valley on the northern edge of Harlow, near Harlow Town station, the BGS maps Alluvium, described as clay, silt, sand and gravel. The BGS describes the Lowestoft Formation as an extensive sheet of chalky till with outwash sands and gravels, silts and clays, and gives the carbonate content of the till matrix as about 30%. Clay, sand and gravel, and alluvium each behave differently under a footing. Trial holes and the engineer's foundation design settle it for your plot.
Article 4 and conservation area restrictions
Permitted development is narrower in parts of Harlow than the national default. The Mark Hall North Article 4 direction came into force on 28 October 2023 and applies to development started or made on or after that date. It means a single storey rear extension, including a conservatory, needs planning permission where it would be visible from a highway, and highway there includes a road, pavement, public footpath, bridleway, unadopted street or private way.
Harlow Council states a single storey rear extension in Mark Hall North is more likely to be approved if it is no more than 3m high with a flat roof, or 4m at the highest point otherwise. It should also project no more than 4m beyond the original rear wall, and leave no more than 50% of the plot covered by buildings. In Harlow's conservation areas, national legislation already requires planning permission for front and side extensions, for rear extensions of more than one storey, and for major roof alterations including dormer windows and additional storeys.
- Trial holes to set foundation depth near drains and trees
- Flat and pitched roofs with rooflights or lanterns
- First fix and second fix plumbing and electrics throughout
- Bi-fold, sliding and French door openings to the garden
- Roof works and structural alterations at roof level
Why Choose GS Renovation in Harlow
An extension in Harlow can need three separate consents: planning permission, covenant consent from the council's covenant control service, and building control approval. The covenant is the one that catches people out, and the retrospective fee is higher than the fee paid before the work. GS Renovation establishes which consents apply, appoints the structural engineer, builds to the calculations and coordinates the building control inspections through to sign off. Fully insured, one point of contact, and free no obligation quotations.
- Building control inspected at foundation, damp course and steel stages
- Foundation depth set after trial holes, drains and trees are checked
- Our own trades on site rather than a chain of subcontractors
- Building control applications and inspections coordinated for you
- Straight advice on what is and is not worth spending money on
- Neighbours given notice before the noisy stages