Extensions in Bristol: design, planning and build

Towns we cover in Bristol

We cover the whole of Bristol, including the city itself.

Guide prices for Bristol

Use these Bristol guide prices to sense-check a budget; the guide-price tool narrows them to your own size, and the site visit turns them into a written figure.

Planning rules in Bristol

In England a single-storey rear extension can usually go up to 3 m beyond the original rear wall of a semi-detached or terraced house, or 4 m on a detached house, without a planning application, provided it is no more than 4 m high, keeps eaves to 3 m within 2 m of a boundary and, with other buildings, covers no more than half the land around the original house. The larger home extension prior approval scheme raises those depths to 6 m and 8 m, with neighbours notified and a 42-day decision.

In a conservation area, national park, National Landscape, the Broads or a World Heritage Site the permitted development limits are tighter (no side or two-storey extensions without an application). Listed homes need listed building consent, and if permitted development rights have been removed, any extension needs an application.

Building regulations approval is separate from planning. In England you can use the council's building control team or a registered building control approver; a full plans application gets the drawings checked before work starts, and the inspector signs the work off with a completion certificate.

What works best for Bristol houses?

South West homes range from terraced streets in the cities to stone cottages and bungalows in the countryside, and conservation areas are common in historic centres.

Start by comparing pitched roof extensions, single-storey rear extensions and orangery extensions: between them they cover most of the layouts we see requested for houses like these.