GS Renovation designs and builds extensions throughout Kentish Town, adding space to the Victorian and Edwardian terraces that fill NW5 between Hampstead Heath and the British Library. Drawing on more than 30 years in North London, we build rear, side-return and wrap-around extensions, handling foundations, steel, roof and full fit-out as a single managed project.
Side-return extensions on Kentish Town terraces
The side return is the classic Kentish Town extension. Most bay-fronted terraces here have a narrow alley of wasted ground beside the rear closet wing, and filling it transforms a dark galley kitchen into a wide open-plan kitchen-diner. We dig and pour new foundations next to the existing wall, install the steel to carry the old external wall, tie the new roof into the closet wing and rebuild so the finished space feels original rather than bolted on.
Working in tight NW5 back gardens with limited rear access takes planning. We often barrow materials through the house or over neighbouring boundaries, protect the existing brickwork and manage spoil removal carefully on residential streets. Because a side return usually meets a shared boundary, party wall agreements with the neighbours are part of the job, and you serve the notices and appoint surveyors where they are needed.
Planning and permitted development in Camden
Whether your Kentish Town extension is permitted development or needs a full planning application depends on the property. Many single-storey rear extensions fall under permitted development rights, but those rights are removed or restricted on flats, on homes within a Camden conservation area, and on any listed building, of which NW5 has plenty. We assess your specific house early so you know which route applies before any design work is committed.
Where a planning application to Camden Council is required, we work alongside your architect on the drawings and guide the build to match exactly what is approved. Separately, every extension needs Building Regulations sign-off covering foundations, structure, insulation, drainage and fire safety. We keep planning and building control clearly apart, arrange the inspections at each stage and hand over the certificates at completion.
- Architectural drawings and structural engineer coordination
- Wrap-around extensions and infills
- Levels, drainage and landscaping made good around the new build
- Side-return and rear extensions
- Roof works and structural alterations at roof level
Trusted House Extensions in Kentish Town
Kentish Town owners choose GS Renovation because one team takes the extension from foundations to final coat, including the steel, the roof, the party wall matters and the fit-out. We understand Camden's conservation constraints and NW5 access challenges, we price transparently, and thirty years of local terraces means fewer surprises and a build that lasts.
- Scaffolding and site set-up planned for tight London plots
- Weathertight shell reached before the fit-out begins
- A written scope and programme agreed before work starts
- One point of contact on the phone, not a call centre
- Party Wall notices served for excavation near a neighbour's wall
- Our own trades on site rather than a chain of subcontractors