Side return extensions for homes in Bexley
Thinking about a side return extension for your Bexley home? Start with a free site visit: we measure up, check what the council will allow and give you honest guide figures on the day.
- Guide price in BexleyFrom £23,000 inc VAT
- PlanningOften permitted development; party wall notice usual
- Build time10–14 weeks on site
- Postcode districtsDA5, DA6, DA7, DA14, DA15
Covering Bexley
Across DA5, DA6, DA7, DA14, DA15, DA16, we can visit, measure and advise. The same team covers Welling (2 miles), Abbey Wood (4 miles), Chislehurst (4 miles), Plumstead (4 miles), all within easy reach.
For homes towards Kent, Dartford is around 3 miles away. In London, space is at a premium and gardens are often short, so side returns, wraparounds and carefully planned rear extensions tend to make the most of every metre.
When a side return extension makes sense
- Victorian and Edwardian terraces with a rear outrigger
- Homes where the garden is too small to lose much depth
- Narrow galley kitchens
Light is the design problem. A side return can make the middle of the house darker if the roof is solid, so we model the daylight and usually recommend a glazed slope or a run of rooflights along the boundary edge.
Will the council need to approve it?
In England a single-storey side return infill is often permitted development if it stays within the height limits and is no wider than half the width of the original house. Conservation areas, listed buildings and flats always need an application, and the boundary wall usually brings in the Party Wall Act.
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 over or within 3 m of a public sewer needs the water company's consent, usually through a build-over agreement, before the foundations go in.
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.
Applications are decided by the local planning authority (your district, borough or unitary council).
Guide prices for Bexley
For Bexley we adjust our national guide rates by ×1.3, the factor we use for London. Figures include VAT; your written quote after the survey replaces them.
Typical rates in Bexley: £2,730 to £4,940 per m² including VAT, depending on specification.
| Size | Essential | Standard | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.8 m × 4.5 m 8 m² | £23,000 – £28,000 | £24,500 – £31,500 | £31,000 – £40,000 |
| 2 m × 5.5 m 11 m² | £30,000 – £36,000 | £34,000 – £43,000 | £42,500 – £54,500 |
| 2.2 m × 7 m 15 m² | £40,500 – £49,000 | £46,500 – £58,500 | £58,500 – £74,500 |
For a figure based on your own dimensions, use our guide-price tool.
Our process, step by step
Site visits are free and there is no obligation. Where drawings are needed, the design stage is priced in writing before it starts.
Free site visit
First, a site visit: we look at the house, garden, access and drains and listen to what you need.
Design and approvals
Drawings are prepared and agreed with you, then submitted for the right planning route and building regulations approval.
Fixed written price
You receive a written, itemised price and programme. Nothing starts until you are happy with it.
Build and sign-off
Work is carried out to the agreed programme, inspected by building control and signed off at the end.
Side return extension questions answered
Do you cover all of Bexley?
Yes. We cover Bexley and the surrounding parts of Greater London. Site visits are free and there is no obligation.
Will my neighbours in Bexley be involved?
If a planning application or prior approval is needed, the council notifies neighbours. If the work is on or near a shared boundary, party wall notices may also be needed.
Who do I contract with for a side return extension in Bexley?
Your contract is with S&K Property Investments and Improvement Ltd, which designs and manages the project and the build teams who carry it out.
Will the kitchen be darker?
Not if the roof is designed well. A glazed roof or a line of rooflights along the boundary usually makes the room brighter than before.
Can I combine a side return with a rear extension?
Yes. That combination is a wraparound extension, which adds the most space to a terraced house.
Book a free site visit in Bexley
We will measure up, check the planning position and give you honest guide figures.
- Free, no-obligation site visit
- Planning route checked before you spend on drawings
- Written price once the design is agreed
- Building control sign-off at the end
Prefer to talk? Call 0800 088 6341 or .
Book a free site visit
Tell us a little about the project and we will arrange a time.