Planning and building regulation drawings in Monken Hadley (EN5)

With many listed houses and a protected village setting, a rear extension or loft here is a more delicate exercise than on a suburban street. The Monken Hadley Conservation Area protects the village setting around the green, and the Wood Street Conservation Area also lies in the district. Barnet's Article 4 direction for Monken Hadley takes away householder permitted development over many of the houses around the green and common, so even modest external works can need planning permission. A new window of a different design, a change of roof covering or a porch can be a planning question, not a quick job.

The long gardens are the other side of the coin. They give a rear extension room to be well proportioned, but the common and surrounding Green Belt limit how far an extension can reach on plots that back onto open land. We start every project here by pinning down the listing, the exact conservation boundary and whether the direction reaches the house, then draw to suit what can actually be consented.

Planning in Monken Hadley: what to know before you apply

Barnet's Monken Hadley Article 4 direction withdraws householder permitted development over many properties around the green and common, so even small external changes to those houses can need planning permission. Independently, conservation-area land removes permitted development for side extensions, roof enlargements and rear extensions of more than one storey. Listed houses also need listed building consent for works affecting their character, internal works included. Green Belt policy bears on extensions at the edge of the common. Barnet also has HMO directions in parts of the borough, which matter only if three to six unrelated people would share. A planning application needs an ownership certificate or notice, not the freeholder's consent.

Applications are decided by London Borough of Barnet — its planning pages.