Kitchens 
House Extensions 
Loft Conversions 
Full Home Refurbishments 
Bathrooms 
What we do in Croydon
Croydon’s own character study splits the borough’s housing into eight types. Two of them cover most of the work we get asked to do. Close to the town centre and the district centres are what the council calls large houses on relatively small plots, Victorian and Edwardian, described as large detached or semi-detached housing 3-5 storeys with small front gardens, but no provision for garages. Further out are the planned estates of semi detached houses, built predominantly between 1925 and 1945 by Wates at Norbury, Laing around Riddlesdown and Costain at Croham Heights.
The numbers matter more than the labels. On the Victorian streets the council’s own figures put the average gap between neighbouring buildings at 2.6 metres, which decides how scaffolding gets in, where the skip goes and how materials reach the back. The average rear garden there is 31 metres, and on the interwar estates 35 metres, so depth is almost never what limits the design. And on those estates the council records that more than half the houses have already been extended, with roof extensions, one and two-storey rear extensions, side extensions over garages and rear conservatories as the usual alterations. A neighbour has very often done it before you.
So the survey is about access and structure rather than space. Where the scaffold stands, what the party wall position is, what is under the floor, and whether the roof is the original hip or has already been changed. On the South Norwood job on this page that meant the whole back of the house came off and went back with a steel across it, which is a line on the quote from day one rather than a surprise in month two.
What Croydon judges an extension against
How we run a job in Croydon
Two jobs near Croydon
What it costs
See the full cost guide
Questions we get in Croydon
Do I need planning permission for an extension in Croydon?
Outside a conservation area, a single-storey rear extension is often permitted development within the national limits. Inside one, Croydon’s own wording is that planning permission is required for extensions and alterations to the roof, side extensions, and for some extensions to the rear of the house. There are 21 conservation areas in the borough, so it is worth checking your address before you assume either way. We check the council’s policies map on the first visit.
Is it true Croydon scrapped its extension guidance?
The Suburban Design Guide was revoked by a full council vote on 25 July 2022 with immediate effect, and the council said the guidance will not apply to decisions on any new or undetermined planning applications. Replacement guidance for residential extensions and alterations was announced but we check whether it has been adopted before quoting any job that needs an application. In practice it means proposals are judged against the Local Plan and conservation guidance, and how a scheme is presented carries more weight.
Does the borough-wide Article 4 affect my extension?
No. Croydon’s borough-wide Article 4 direction removes the permitted change from a house to a small house in multiple occupation. It was made on 28 January 2019 and came into force on 28 January 2020. It does not touch extensions or lofts. The directions that do affect alterations are area-specific, and they include Chatsworth Road, The Waldrons and Kenley Aerodrome.
What does a skip actually cost here?
The permit is £78 and only a skip company can apply for it, so a householder cannot do it themselves. The council needs five working days for a new permit and one working day for a renewal. If the skip has to stand in a controlled parking zone it must sit in a parking bay, and the dispensation or suspension has to be obtained from Parking Services before the skip permit application goes in. If the job needs scaffolding on the highway that is a separate licence at £488 for four weeks, or £610 if the scaffold runs over ten metres, with a refundable deposit of £50 per square metre. Building materials left on the pavement are a third licence, £17 a day or £233 for a fortnight. All of it is in the quote.
Will I need a party wall agreement?
On a Victorian terrace close to the town centre, usually two notices, one to each neighbour you share a wall with. On an interwar semi, one. The notices go out under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 before work starts. On the Victorian streets it matters more than most places, because the council’s own figures put the average distance between neighbouring buildings at 2.6 metres.
Can I convert my loft on a 1930s estate house?
Often, and the council’s own character study lists roof extensions among the usual alterations on those estates, alongside rear extensions and side extensions over garages. It also records that more than half the houses there have already been extended. The practical question is the roof shape: a hipped roof usually needs squaring off before the space is worth having, which is a different job from a plain dormer. We measure the head height on the first visit and tell you which one you are looking at.
