House Extensions Shoreditch
Single storey rear and double storey extensions in Shoreditch, planning, structure and build under one contract.
- Rated 4.9 from 31 reviews on MyBuilder
- Single-storey rear extension from £40,000
- Free site survey, itemised quote
GS Renovation builds extensions across Shoreditch and the surrounding E2 streets, working with the area's warehouse conversions and newer apartment blocks. We take on the groundworks, steelwork, roofing and full fit-out, and we tell you honestly whether your project is permitted development or needs a planning application to Hackney Council or, on the Brick Lane and Columbia Road side, Tower Hamlets Council.
In Shoreditch, 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 Shoreditch: the structural engineer we appoint designs the structure, we build it, and building control signs it off.
Price guide
| Work | Indicative London range |
|---|---|
| Single-storey rear extension | from £40,000 |
| Rear extension, per m² | £2,000 to £2,800 |
| Side return, per m² | £2,400 to £3,200 |
| Wraparound, per m² | £2,400 to £3,200 |
| Double storey, per m² | £1,800 to £2,600 |
| Basement extension | see the basement page |
Indicative London ranges (Architecture for London, Resi, MyBuilder and Checkatrade, 2026), not a quotation. Prices checked September 2026. Full breakdown: Extension Costs & Planning.
Quick estimate for Shoreditch
Shoreditch range: choose above
Extending Shoreditch conversions and homes
Extension options in Shoreditch depend heavily on the property type. Where you own a house or a ground-floor unit with outdoor space, a rear or side-return extension can turn a cramped kitchen into an open living area. Where you hold a leasehold flat in a conversion, external alteration is far more limited and the freeholder's licence to alter and the building's management rules govern what is realistically possible.
For every project we start with the structure and the ground. Foundations are dug to suit the local soil and any nearby drainage, steel beams are sized by an engineer to carry the new openings and roof, and the works are sequenced so the existing home stays weathertight. From footings to plastering, one Shoreditch team keeps the build tidy and accountable throughout.
Housing in Shoreditch
Shoreditch's housing, as the Council Tax list records it, is about 11,700 homes: 6% houses, 94% flats, with 24% pre-1919, 4% interwar and 72% built since 1945. Since most homes here are flats, a flat in Shoreditch has no householder permitted development rights, so extending one needs planning permission and the freeholder's consent.
Extending one of Shoreditch's few houses under Hackney's SPD
Terraced houses are 6% of homes in Shoreditch, so an extension here is usually on one of a small number of terraces, and the plots behind them can be short. On the Hackney side, the residential extensions and alterations SPD was adopted in December 2025 and came into effect in January 2026. Its consultation draft, checked against the adopted wording, says single storey rear extensions to terrace houses should be no deeper than 3m from the rear elevation of the original dwelling. It also says any extension will need to retain at least 50% of the original rear garden. On a short yard the garden test can bind first, so we measure the yard before the architect draws a depth.
The third test is light to the neighbours. The draft applies a 45 degree rule, under which an extension should not exceed a line taken at 45 degrees from the centre of the nearest ground floor habitable room window of an adjoining building. In tight Shoreditch backs, where the neighbour's window can be close to the boundary, that line can limit the height at the boundary more than the depth. We survey the windows either side and give the architect their positions and cill heights, so the section is drawn to the line from the start. A house that can extend under permitted development works to the national limits instead.
Planning and party walls in E2
Some Shoreditch extensions fall under permitted development, but many do not, and it is a mistake to assume either way. Hackney Council operates conservation controls in parts of the area, as does Tower Hamlets Council on the Brick Lane and Columbia Road side of Shoreditch, and flats and maisonettes have no householder permitted development rights at all. We check your property's status before design work begins and, where a full planning application is needed, we tell you so before any design money is spent and build to the approved drawings.
Extensions are structural, so they always need building regulations approval and building control inspection, separate from any planning question. Where your new wall or foundation sits against a neighbour's, the Party Wall Act applies: you serve the notice as building owner (or your surveyor does), and we give you the drawings and programme it needs and build to any award. In a leasehold building we also loop in the managing agent early, so access, scaffolding and hours are agreed before the first delivery arrives.
Kitchen extensions in Shoreditch
94% of homes in Shoreditch are flats, and a flat has no householder permitted development, so a ground-floor flat's kitchen extension needs planning permission from Hackney Council or Tower Hamlets Council and the freeholder's consent. With so few houses here, the realistic kitchen gain in most Shoreditch homes is a better layout inside the flat rather than an extension. The fit-out is priced on its own page, kitchen renovation in Shoreditch; the build figures are in the table above. Double storey extensions belong to the few houses here.
- Drawings and the structural engineer's design coordinated for you
- Single and double storey extensions
- Foundations, groundworks and steel frames
VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for Shoreditch, Columbia Road and Brick Lane North. Counts rounded by the VOA.
Why Shoreditch Homeowners Choose GS Renovation
GS Renovation gives Shoreditch homeowners one accountable team for the whole extension, from the planning judgement through groundworks, steel and fit-out. We know how Hackney and Tower Hamlets councils handle applications in Shoreditch and how leasehold buildings restrict what you can do, so you get a realistic plan, honest pricing and a build that stands up to scrutiny.
- Permitted development checked before you pay for a planning application
- Programme planned around party wall notice periods before excavation near a neighbour
- Clean, tidy and reliable tradespeople
Built a new extension at rear of property. Laid foundations, drainage, raised floor, new roof and completed all fixtures and interior decoration…
George always kept to commitments and arrived on time. He offered helpful suggestions during his initial visit and promptly provided a reasonably…
Saaid is the best craftsman I have worked with. He knows what he is doing from the very beginning. He has a great knowledge of construction…
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about House Extensions Shoreditch
Does the cost of house extensions rise in a post-war or modern Shoreditch property?
In a post-war or modern Shoreditch home the unknowns behind plaster are what move a house extensions figure within £2,000 to £2,800 per m² for a rear extension (indicative), which is why the E2 survey matters more there. GS Renovation prices the visible work, names the risks, and agrees anything additional in writing. The approvals do not change with age: a Hackney Council or Tower Hamlets Council building control inspection of the foundations before concrete is poured applies either way.
Will my Shoreditch extension need planning permission from Hackney Council?
A house extension may be permitted development, but flats and units in conversions usually are not, and conservation controls in parts of E2 can require a full application. We assess your specific property first and, if planning is needed, the application goes to Hackney Council, or to Tower Hamlets Council for an address on the Brick Lane and Columbia Road side, before any work starts. Either way the work needs building regulations approval and building control inspection.
How can a Shoreditch extension get light when neighbouring walls surround it?
Through the roof. Where a house has a yard hemmed in by walls, rooflights or a glazed lantern bring in daylight that side windows cannot. Part L still applies, so the glazed area is weighed against the insulation of the rest. Building up to the boundary may also involve the neighbour, so you serve the party wall notice before work starts.
What has to be checked under a Shoreditch extension before digging?
Drains, and the neighbour's foundations. A public sewer under or near the footprint needs the water company's consent under Part H before building over it. The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 also applies to excavation: a trench inside 3 metres of the adjoining house that goes lower than its footings means serving a month's notice before the dig.
How is the back wall of a Shoreditch house opened into a new extension?
With steel, installed once the new shell is weathertight. The wall above is propped, the opening is cut, and the beam is bedded on padstones or carried by a steel frame on its own foundations. The inspector sees the steel and bearings before they are boxed in, and the house stays sealed for most of the build.
When does building control visit during a Shoreditch extension?
At stages, each before the work is covered: foundation trenches before concrete, drainage before backfill, the damp proof course, the steel bearings, and insulation before plastering. A final visit leads to the completion certificate. On a tight Shoreditch plot the builder calls each inspection in good time, because missing one means opening up finished work.
Does a public sewer near a Shoreditch house change the building control route?
Yes. A building notice cannot be used with Hackney Building Control where the proposal is within 3 metres of or over a public sewer, and a full plans application is required instead. On a tight Shoreditch plot the drain can run close to or under the yard, so the extension may well sit within that distance. A drain survey at the start fixes the route and shows whether the water company's consent is needed too.
Is a Shoreditch house extension liable for the Community Infrastructure Levy?
Usually not for a modest one. The Mayoral CIL applies across Hackney, and Hackney applies its own CIL in addition. But Hackney Council says development of less than 100 square metres will not normally be assessed as liable for CIL unless it is a whole dwelling, in which case the levy is payable. Measure the new floor area on the drawings early, because it decides whether the question arises at all.
How long does a lawful development certificate take for a Shoreditch extension?
Hackney Council says it will issue a lawful development certificate within 8 weeks, and it is worth having where an extension relies on permitted development. In a conservation area a house loses that right for side extensions, rear extensions of more than one storey and cladding, but keeps it for a single storey rear extension unless an Article 4 direction removes it. A flat has no permitted development rights, so a planning application is the starting point.
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