Loft conversion changes

[Youweremybrotheranakin]

So we have put an offer in on a house.

It has a large loft conversion - front and back dormers. The front is really ugly. Like a box on the front roof of the house.

would we be able to change this ? Like to perhaps two gabled windows?

it’s an old Edwardian house so ideally want it to look more in keeping and pretty.

@Youweremybrotheranakin Highly likely. You need to do local research on pp policy though. Quite often window alterations are excluded from planning permission. We have installed a roof light in our house in AONB without needing pp. We have enlarged a window in a house in a coastal AONB. Reducing a huge dormer to two smaller dormer windows could need pp because you are changing the look of the house. Adding dormers often needs pp but you need to check with your planning department about reducing them and making the change to the roof. Sounds like a good move to improve the look of the house.

You also need to consider if you need pp whether building control will be involved. If the loft is old and doesn’t meet current building control regs this might trigger a need for it to comply. We wanted to alter a 1980s conversion but because we needed pp and it would have failed building regs we had to rebuild the whole thing.

I would also consider BRegs. Make sure the original conversion meets fire regs etc.

This sounds like one of those loft conversions carried out when planning laws were much looser than they are today. I doubt many local authorities would approve the loft conversion that your house has now, if an application was made today.

You would almost certainly be granted permission to return the roof back to its original front slope, plus velux windows, given this would probably also be in keeping with the rest of the street.

I personally dislike the look of those "box on the front of the house" loft conversions, as they always look out of place, so you're not alone!

Not necessarily true. Many properties add additional floors now. Some look really good. Long dormer windows don’t look great on lots of houses though. It all depends on planning policies for the area in question.

Although this is a 1930's style property, I was thinking OP meant removing this sort of thing, which no other houses in the vicinity have, rather than an extra floor which looks ok.

@Starseeking Yes this is the sort of thing it has - a box on the front and the back.

I think the loft was built about 30 years ago so may not meet current bregs.

would we need pp to change just the windows? Don’t want to trigger something that would mean we need to replace the whole thing,

but I guess at a minimum we could tile it differently to be more inkeeping and would love to change the windows.

If it is on the front you may well need pp.

If it was built 30 years ago not a chance it will meet regs now. So you may have to completely rebuild. At least you will hopefully get exactly what you want with a rebuild.

@Youweremybrotheranakin 30 years ago is not that long. Stair case and fire regs wouldn’t be that different now.

Planning departments have a lot to answer for! Why approve a carbuncle like that? Dreadful! You would think any improvement over that type of loft extension would not need pp. How did something like that get pp in the first place? Clearly no consideration for aesthetics at all. Pp rarely cares about that unless it’s a conservation area. In my area the planning dept has design guides which are routinely ignored.It would be interesting to see if your planning authority has a design guide on roof extensions.

I think if you are just changing the exterior cladding and not doing anything structural it may be ok in terms of building regs - the new windows would have to meet them though. But as it's on the street you may need permission, particularly if you are in a conservation area. See what your local authority says about changing the exterior cladding.

@Youweremybrotheranakin This is pretty standard advice. I would check your loft does meet building regs and fire regs though. Staircases and fire doors can be overlooked.

I'm not sure which local authority you live in, however you should check if yours has issued a Residential Extension Guideline (REG) pack, which will explain how planning policy applies.

Unfortunately my local authority only adopted this REG in 2017, so there are some horrifically ugly front extensions in the area.

I've attached the part of my LA REG says regarding the streetscene and roof alterations.

These box type things in the picture of my previous post are definitely not allowed now, however to make yours aesthetically pleasing, you'd probably have to redo the whole thing.

Unless you live in a conservation area, loft conversions can usually be done in my area under permitted development rather than full planning, provided it's less than 50m2 in size, so it's worth checking out what yours says, which should be available on the council website.

Wow thank you all for the detailed and thorough replies. We are in Waltham Forest London. So will definitely take a look at pp and regulations.

it’s absolutely crazy that front lofts were allowed on such lovely old houses 🥹

i guess at some point it might be worth replacing the whole thing then we can make it as good as it can be.

This link will tell you whether your house is in a conservation area in your borough:

www.walthamforest.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/design-and-conservation/conservation-areas-and-listed-buildings

This link tells you how planning applies in your borough:
www.walthamforest.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control

@Starseeking Thanks so much for those links! Really appreciated.

The house is in a conservation area so I guess that may affect things.

@Youweremybrotheranakin Yes it will. Amazing such ugly, out of keeping , box loft extensions were allowed in the first place in a conservation area. Unless it’s a very recent one. They should, however, welcome improvements!