Kitchen extensions come in all shapes, sizes and budgets. So, to help you bring your dream design to life, we’re revealing all there is to know about the rear extension – from cost and planning requirements to benefits…
The rear extension is ideal for homes with larger gardens. It creates a wonderful space for family life and entertaining, especially if you maximise the connection between the kitchen and the garden.
“Rear extensions extend the kitchen into the garden, allowing for an open- plan layout,” Shehryar Khan of Sheraton Interiors tells KBB journo Amanda Cochrane. “You need to consider the impact on your outdoor space and ensure the design complements the existing structure.”
Planning requirements
Rear extensions must not cover more than 50% of the land around the original house or include features like balconies or raised platforms without permission, advises architect Benjamin Wilkes. Meanwhile, properties in conservation areas or with Article 4 Directions – a planning law that allows local councils to restrict certain permitted development rights in a specific area – may face additional restrictions, and listed buildings require separate consent.
“Materials must match the existing property, and ensuring the extension appears subservient to the original property can help with approval,” continues Ben. “Consider your neighbours, too. A daylight/sunlight assessment might be needed to address concerns about light loss, overlooking or proximity to boundaries.
“For single-storey rear extensions, detached houses can extend up to four metres, and semi-detached or terraced houses up to three metres from the original rear wall under permitted development, with the option to extend further (up to eight metres for detached homes and six metres for others) under the Larger Home Extension scheme, subject to prior approval.”
Benefits of rear extensions
Of course, the final design depends on your needs and the layout of your property but, in general, a rear extension will help to open up the back of the home to create a larger kitchen, dining area or family room, and will often improve the link to your garden.
With a wide variety of window designs now available – from sliding doors to generous bifold designs and picture windows – that means plenty of light and lots of lovely garden views.
“Sliding aluminium or timber windows will offer more glazing but the opening is smaller,” says Grant Straghan, practice director of Dedraf, who likes to work with a combination of sliding doors and picture windows. “Bifolds have a lot more frame-to- glass ratio than sliders and are still popular as they provide a larger opening for the inside- outside experience.”
Cost
In London, the typical starting price for a rear extension is around £57,000, says Alex Main of The Main Company. However, given extensions can be up to eight metres in length for larger properties, the price can vary hugely.
Will this be the right solution for your project? Click here to explore side-return extensions next.
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