Rear extension in Haringey

In most of Haringey, a single-storey rear extension within permitted development limits (3m on attached houses, 4m on detached, 4m height) can proceed without an application — the borough's Article 4 directions are localised to specific conservation areas rather than applied borough-wide, so much of the housing stock keeps full PD rights. Inside a conservation area, that basic single-storey rear allowance usually survives too; it's two-storey rear extensions and side elements that lose permitted development and need a full householder application. Always check the exact address: Haringey's protection is real, but it's drawn conservation area by conservation area, not applied across the whole borough.

PD carries many schemes in the east; Muswell Hill and Highgate need full applications.

Rear extensions are where Haringey's east-west contrast shows up most directly. In the borough's lighter-touch eastern streets, permitted development often carries the whole project, so the real work is a good drawn set and party wall notices rather than a planning argument. Move into the protected western conservation cores and the calculus changes: the single-storey rear allowance still generally applies, but you're now designing to sit comfortably on a Victorian or Edwardian streetscape that officers know well, and any hint of a second storey or side element pulls the scheme into a full application decided on precedent.

Permitted development (GPDO Class A) covers single-storey rear extensions up to 3m beyond the original rear wall on attached houses and 4m on detached, with a maximum height of 4m. The 'larger home extension' route extends this to 6m/8m through prior approval with neighbour consultation — but that larger route is not available in conservation areas.

In conservation areas, the basic 3m/4m single-storey rear PD allowance usually survives — what conservation-area status removes is side extensions and two-storey rear extensions. An Article 4 direction can remove more, but Camden's directions in Hampstead and Belsize target front-and-side appearance (solar panels, window changes, boundary treatments), not the single-storey rear allowance. Flats have no PD rights at all. Two-storey rear extensions in conservation areas always need full permission.

Practical rule across London: check the address first. If a conservation area or Article 4 direction applies, budget for a full householder application decided on design, neighbour daylight (the 45-degree test) and materials.