Extensions · Derbyshire
If your home needs more space and you have an idea of what you would like to add, the first question is whether you can build it. In Derbyshire the answer often depends on your house as much as your plans, because a stone cottage, a village plot or a conservation area each brings its own considerations.
We can usually give you an early answer on whether your extension needs planning permission at all, and on what is likely to be supported if it does. Because our architects and planners work together, the planning position informs your design from the outset.
Managing Director – Chartered Town Planner
How we can help
You are welcome to come to us at any stage, although the earlier we talk, the more options you will have. Here is how we can help you along the way.
We check whether your extension needs planning permission or can go ahead as permitted development. Where no application is needed, a lawful development certificate gives you written confirmation, which can be helpful when you come to sell.
Whether you are adding a kitchen at the back, a room over the garage or a loft conversion, our RIBA chartered architects design it around how you want to live. Your design also reflects what your house and its setting will allow.
We prepare your application and submit it to the right council, with your neighbours’ likely concerns considered in the design rather than answered afterwards.
We prepare the technical drawings you need for building regulations approval and for pricing, so you can compare builders on the same information.
How we work
No two extensions follow quite the same timetable, so once we understand yours we will map out how long each stage is likely to take. This is the usual shape of the work, from your first call to the builders arriving.
Step 1
We talk through what you would like, what you hope to spend, and whether your property has any constraints that might change the answer.
Step 2
We measure your house and check for any designation, listing or restriction on permitted development that affects it.
Step 3
We develop more than one option for you to react to, because this is the easiest stage at which to change your mind.
Step 4
We submit your application with the drawings and any supporting statement, and the statutory period for deciding a householder application is eight weeks from validation.
Step 5
We prepare the drawings for building regulations and tender, and can support you on site while your extension is built.
Local context
If your home no longer quite fits the way you live, a well-designed extension can make a real difference to how it works for you. We designed an extension and remodel in Cromford and another in Swanwick, in Amber Valley, and both have since been built. Projects like these usually begin with a conversation about how you want to use your home, and the design grows from there.
In Allestree, we designed an extension and remodel that Derby City Council approved. Around Ashbourne, we designed an approved extension at Biggin by Hulland, and a pool house at Sturston that was also approved. Whether your house sits on a suburban street or in open countryside, its setting shapes what will work, and we take it into account from the start.
Where a house is in a conservation area, the design needs particular care. On Dale Road in Matlock Bath, within the conservation area, Derbyshire Dales District Council approved an extension we designed. If your own home is in a conservation area, we can explain early on how that affects your plans, and guide you towards materials and details that belong there.
Whatever the size of your project, you will have one team looking after both the design and the planning case. That means fewer loose ends when your application goes in, and a clearer path to building work afterwards.
Many extensions can go ahead without a planning application, although those rights are narrower in conservation areas, can be removed by an Article 4 direction, and do not cover flats. We check your property first, so you know whether you need permission before you spend money on design.
Many Derbyshire homes are built of local stone, and the council will look for an extension whose materials suit the house. We help you settle the materials early, whether that means a close match or a contrasting material that complements the stone, so your budget reflects the choice as well as your drawings.
On village streets and terraces, your neighbours' light and privacy tend to come up more often than on a spacious suburban plot. We consider them from the first sketch, which usually lets us design around them before they become objections.
Sloping sites are common in the Dales and along the Derwent valley, and a change in level affects cost, access and how your extension looks from next door. We work with the slope from the start, so the extension sits comfortably and the build stays realistic for your budget.
RIBA
RTPI
IHBC
ARB
Home projects
Extensions, remodels and garden buildings we have designed for homes across the county. They may help you picture what is possible with yours.
Swanwick
Planning & Design Practice was appointed to design and deliver a two-storey side extension in Swanwick.
Brassington, Derbyshire
Extension to a Cottage, Brassington, a late 19th century Italian Villa within the Brassington Conservation Area. The brief was to
Allestree
Planning & Design Practice was appointed to design and secure planning permission for a comprehensive remodelling and extension project in
Biggin
Planning & Design have recently obtained planning consent for a project on a large plot of land in the rural
Belper
Planning & Design Practice was commissioned to design and deliver a transformative scheme for a historic riverside property outside Belper.
Ashbourne
Planning & Design Practice have secured planning consent for a rear extension to form a swimming pool at a former
Derbyshire Dales
Planning & Design Practice gain planning permission for an extension to facilitate a swimming pool for the family home of
Common questions
The answer depends on your house and on the size of what you have in mind. Many extensions fall within permitted development limits on size and height. The position is different in a conservation area or where an Article 4 direction applies, and if your home is listed or a flat. We can check your property before you commit to anything.
A lawful development certificate is the council’s written confirmation that your extension is permitted development. You do not have to apply for one, but it gives you certainty, and a buyer’s solicitor may ask for it when you sell. We will tell you whether it is worth having for your project.
Once your application is validated, the council has a statutory period of eight weeks to decide it. How long the design takes beforehand depends on your project and the decisions you make along the way, and we will agree a realistic timetable with you at the outset.
Stone tends to affect the build more than the application. Matching stone well takes care and needs allowing for in your budget, while a well-chosen contrasting material can be just as successful. We can help you weigh the two for your house.
An objection does not decide your application on its own. The council weighs objections on planning grounds such as overlooking, loss of light, scale and appearance, while matters like the loss of a view are not normally planning considerations. A careful design usually answers your neighbours’ reasonable concerns before they are raised.
Building regulations are a separate approval from planning, and almost every extension needs them, including many that need no planning permission. We prepare the drawings for both, so one team looks after the whole package for you.
Wider coverage
Find us
Planning & Design Practice — Derby (Head Office)
3 Woburn House, Vernon Gate, Derby, DE1 1UL
Derby, Derbyshire and the East Midlands
Get started
Are you picturing a bigger kitchen, an extra bedroom or a room that opens onto the garden? Send us a photograph of your house with a short note of your ideas, and we will give you a sense of whether permission is likely to be needed and what might be possible. You do not pay anything for that first conversation.
