Structural alterations are the works that change how a building stands up: new openings, beams, removed walls, altered floors and roofs. In Harpenden the consent question runs alongside the structural one, because a large part of the town sits inside a conservation area with its own character statement. We are a contractor. We appoint a structural engineer, build to the calculation, and coordinate the building control application and inspections.
Demolition inside the conservation area needs permission
St Albans City and District Council states that planning permission is required for relevant demolition within a conservation area. The council adds that demolishing a building within a conservation area without that permission, where it is required, is a criminal offence. That is worth reading twice before any alteration that removes fabric. We check the constraint before pricing, and where consent is needed the application goes in before the work, not after it.
Design is argued identity area by identity area
The council's April 2008 character statement divides Harpenden Conservation Area into identity areas lettered A to O. The identity areas map shows nineteen labels, because areas C, E, I and L are each split in two. The written sections 5.0 to 19.0 describe eighteen, treating L as a single area. Southdown is identity area O.
The character statement is to be read together with saved Policy 85 of the St Albans City and District Local Plan Review 1994, and with the Harpenden Local List of buildings that positively contribute to the area's character. So the argument about materials and detailing is made against the identity area your house sits in, not against the town as a whole.
Article 4 at Coldharbour Lane and Southdown Industrial Estate
Two Article 4 directions in Harpenden bite on change of use rather than on householder work. They carry references Ar4.23 and Ar4.26 and both took effect on 20 March 2017. They remove Part 3 Classes O, P and PA, which cover office, storage and light industrial conversion to residential use. If you are converting a unit in either area, permitted development is not the route and a planning application is. Confirm any specific address on the council's planning constraints map.
The ground the alteration ends up standing on
The mapped ground changes across a short distance here. The British Geological Survey maps no single superficial deposit under Harpenden High Street and the town centre. At National Grid reference 513300, 214300 no superficial deposit is mapped at all, so the chalk is shown at the surface. A narrow ribbon of River Terrace Deposits runs through the centre on a north west to south east line, with Clay-with-flints on the higher ground to the west. Where an alteration puts new load into a foundation, that is a site investigation question and the engineer answers it.
- Drainage diversion and build-over agreements where required
- Chimney breast removal and support to the stack above
- Basement and cellar alterations with retaining support
- New door and window openings in solid masonry
- Building control applications and completion certification
Why Harpenden Homeowners Choose GS Renovation
The consent route matters here as much as the calculation. Before we price a structural alteration we establish whether the property sits inside Harpenden Conservation Area, which identity area it falls in, and whether an Article 4 direction applies. We then appoint the structural engineer, build to the calculation, and coordinate the building control application and inspections. You get one point of contact throughout. We are fully insured, registered in England, company number 14611254, and our quotations are free and carry no obligation.
- Our own trades on site rather than a chain of subcontractors
- One point of contact on the phone, not a call centre
- Existing structure protected and monitored as the engineer requires
- Load paths carried properly down to foundations
- Clean, tidy and reliable tradespeople
- The engineer's calculations obtained and worked to on site