Structural alterations in Radlett meet a set of local planning controls that do not apply in the towns around it. Hertsmere Borough Council has removed permitted development rights over named bungalows here, and the made Radlett Plan sets policy on what may replace them. We build to an engineer's calculations and work inside those controls rather than around them.
The Article 4 Directions over Radlett's bungalows
Hertsmere Borough Council has made three Article 4 Directions over named bungalows in Radlett, covering ten numbered bungalow groups identified in the Radlett Plan. They remove Part 1, Class AA of Schedule 2 to the General Permitted Development Order, which is the right to enlarge a house by constructing additional storeys.
The council states that owners of the bungalows covered need planning permission to add an extra storey. That applies whether the storey is for extra living space or to create another self contained residential unit at first floor level. Identical work on a bungalow outside those groups is a different proposition. So the first thing to settle on a Radlett alteration is whether your address appears on one of the schedules.
Which bungalows are covered, and since when
The Direction covering Groups 1, 2, 3, 4 and 9 was confirmed on 25 May 2023 and modified by the Secretary of State on 14 June 2023. It applies to named bungalows on Theobald Street, Williams Way, Faggots Close, Craigweil Avenue and Newberries Avenue.
The Direction covering Groups 6, 7, 8 and 10 was confirmed on 12 June 2024, following a period of public consultation in 2023. It applies to named bungalows on Goodyers Avenue, Links Drive and The Close. The schedules list individual house numbers rather than whole streets. A neighbour being covered does not mean you are, and the reverse holds too, so we check the schedule against your address before scoping anything.
Policy HD7 of the made Radlett Plan
Policy HD7 governs what may replace or alter the identified bungalows. Policy HD7.1 covers development proposals that impact on any of the Radlett bungalows identified on the Policy HD7 map for their individual and/or group value. Those proposals should protect or enhance that contribution to local townscape character. Policy HD7.2 states that replacement of an existing bungalow or chalet bungalow identified for its individual and/or group value must be broadly commensurate in terms of its existing ridge height and respect its wider setting. Policy HD7 also requires applications to respond positively to and be in keeping with key features typical of local bungalows and their setting.
The plan carries that weight because it was made. Radlett has its own made neighbourhood plan, The Radlett Plan 2020 to 2036, with Aldenham Parish Council as the qualifying body and a local steering group set up to prepare it. It passed its referendum on 6 May 2021 and is used alongside the borough Local Plan to decide applications in the village. Around 75 per cent of votes cast supported using it, on a turnout of 44 per cent. The bungalow groups themselves came from a Radlett Character Assessment of 2016 and its addendum dated 2018.
Who decides, under which plan, and where demolition sits
The local planning authority is Hertsmere Borough Council, whose planning strategy team is based at the Civic Offices, Elstree Way, Borehamwood WD6 1WA. Its adopted development plan is the Hertsmere Local Plan 2012 to 2027, made up of four parts. Those are the Core Strategy, adopted 16 January 2013, the Elstree Way Corridor Area Action Plan, adopted July 2015, the Site Allocations and Development Management Policies Plan, adopted 23 November 2016, and the Policies Map. For householder work the relevant policies sit in the Core Strategy and the Site Allocations and Development Management Policies Plan. The Hertsmere Local Plan 2003 no longer has effect.
Radlett also has two conservation areas, Radlett (North) and Radlett (South), both designated on 20 April 1988. Demolishing a building, or the principal part of a building, in either of them needs planning permission from the council before work starts. This is known as relevant demolition, and carrying it out without permission is a criminal offence. Hertsmere's conservation areas page still uses the older term conservation area consent, which was abolished in England on 1 October 2013. Where an alteration involves taking a structure down, we put the question to the council in writing instead of assuming an answer.
- Building control applications and completion certification
- Steel beam and RSJ installation
- Reinstatement, plastering and finishing after structural works
- Load paths carried down to foundations on new piers and pads
- Basement and cellar alterations with retaining support
Why Choose GS Renovation in Radlett
Structural alterations in Radlett are decided by a specific authority under a specific set of documents, and that is the part we take off you. The address is checked against the Article 4 schedules and the proposal is read against Policy HD7 and the borough Local Plan. The engineer we appoint then designs to what the consent will allow, rather than to a scheme that has to be redrawn later. We are fully insured, registered in England, company number 14611254, and building control applications and inspections are coordinated for you.
- Trial holes dug to confirm what is under the building
- Temporary works and needling planned before demolition starts
- We build to the party wall award the surveyors agree, to the letter
- Free, no-obligation quotations
- A dedicated project manager from first survey to handover
- Paperwork and certificates handed over for when you sell