Loft Conversions in Colindale

City/Town Name: Colindale

Borough Name: Barnet

Area: 0.50 Sq Miles

Population: 8,524

City Information

Colindale is a suburban district in the London Borough of Barnet, about eight miles north west of Charing Cross. It sits between Hendon, Edgware, Queensbury and Kingsbury, with its main shopping streets along Edgware Road and nearby The Hyde. The area grew from farmland and market gardens into a North London suburb in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, helped by Colindale Hospital, Hendon Aerodrome and the Northern line station. Today Colindale is one of Barnet’s key housing growth areas, with major regeneration bringing thousands of new flats and mixed use schemes alongside older estates such as Grahame Park. Homeowners see a mix of traditional houses and modern apartment blocks, good transport on the Northern line, and local draws like the Royal Air Force Museum and Bang Bang Oriental food hall.

 

Planning Notes

Colindale is covered by the Planning Service within Planning and Building Control at the London Borough of Barnet. For most houses in Colindale, loft conversions are possible under national permitted development rights, as long as the scheme stays within the usual volume and design limits. Terraced houses can normally add up to 40 cubic metres of roof space and semi detached or detached houses up to 50 cubic metres, with the new roof not higher than the existing ridge and dormers set back from the eaves. Materials should be similar to the existing house, there should be no balconies or roof terraces, and any side windows must be obscure glazed and non opening below 1.7 metres. Building regulations approval is always required, even when planning permission is not, and Barnet encourages homeowners to seek a Lawful Development Certificate for permitted development lofts. Barnet applies householder Article 4 directions in several conservation areas across the borough, but these named areas do not include Colindale, so most houses here keep permitted development rights for roof enlargements. Separate Article 4 directions apply on specific employment locations in Colindale, including Colindale Technology Park and parts of Colindeep Lane, but these focus on changes of use from office and industrial to residential rather than typical householder loft conversions.

 

Article Notes

Barnet Council uses Article 4 Directions where it needs to remove permitted development rights and bring certain works or changes of use under full planning control. In Colindale this is most visible around Colindale Technology Park and sites off Cecil Road and Colindeep Lane, where Article 4 Directions withdraw national rights to change former office, light industrial or warehouse space to residential use without an application. These directions do not automatically stop a homeowner from building a loft on a typical house, but they do mean that developers converting commercial buildings in these mapped areas must apply for planning permission and have schemes assessed against Barnet’s policies. Householder loft conversions on ordinary streets in Colindale are instead governed by the usual mix of permitted development rules, Barnet residential design guidance, and any specific conditions on past permissions for that property.

Types of Houses

Colindale’s housing stock reflects its layered growth from farmland to a busy outer London suburb. Early development brought Edwardian and interwar houses, including semi detached and terraced streets that now form much of Barnet’s typical loft friendly stock. The large Grahame Park estate, built in the 1960s and 1970s on former Hendon Aerodrome land, adds extensive mid twentieth century flats and maisonettes, many in concrete frame blocks. Recent regeneration has introduced dense clusters of new build apartment blocks and mixed use schemes around Colindale Underground Station, the former hospital sites and along key roads, with modern elevations and smaller private gardens than older streets. Homeowners planning lofts in Colindale therefore work with a mix of traditional pitched roof houses, postwar estates and contemporary blocks, each with different roof forms and structural conditions that affect what kind of conversion is possible.

Highlights

Colindale Underground Station on the Northern line gives fast links into central London and other parts of Barnet. Bus routes on Edgware Road and through The Hyde connect Colindale with Hendon, Kingsbury, Brent Cross and Harrow. Local health services include Colindale Medical Centre on Colindeep Lane and walk in minor injury care at nearby Edgware Community Hospital. Education is served by Colindale Primary School, St James Catholic School and North London Grammar School, among others. Everyday shopping is available along Edgware Road and The Hyde, with larger retail at Brent Cross Shopping Centre a short drive away. Leisure and culture in the area include the Royal Air Force Museum, Bang Bang Oriental food hall, local parks and open spaces identified in Barnet’s Colindale open space strategy.