# Builders in Hanwell

Canonical URL: https://mirion.uk/areas/ealing/hanwell/

> Side-return extensions, loft conversions and renovations for Victorian and Edwardian houses in Hanwell, W7, plus its six conservation areas explained.

Hanwell's Victorian and Edwardian terraces suit side-return extensions and rear dormer lofts, and that is most of the work we do here, alongside full renovations.

Hanwell is an old settlement: St Mary's Church was established in the tenth century, although the present building dates from 1842. The Great Western Railway opened Hanwell station in 1838, and during the Victorian period the village spread south of the Uxbridge Road; by the end of the nineteenth century it had more than a thousand houses.

Terraced houses dominate. At the 2021 Census, 64% of households in Hanwell, Elthorne Park and Brent Valley lived in houses, and 36% in terraced houses, the highest terraced share of any area we cover. Median semi-detached prices were about £775,000 to £1 million in the year to March 2026.

Victorian and Edwardian terraces here typically have a back outrigger, which creates the side return that an infill extension can fill, and a roof that suits a rear dormer.

Hanwell has six [conservation areas](https://www.ealing.gov.uk/info/201158/conservation_areas/1029/hanwell_conservation_areas): Churchfields, Cuckoo Estate, Hanwell Cemeteries, Hanwell Clock Tower, Hanwell Village Green and part of St Mark's Church and Canal. Inside them, roof enlargements and side extensions are not permitted development, so side-return infills and dormers need planning permission. Ealing's SPD 4 also sets out extra expectations for conservation areas: rear extensions to rectangular houses should not usually be full-width or wrap around, side extensions should usually be no more than about a half or a third of the house's width, and dormers are usually acceptable only on rear slopes.

Outside conservation areas, SPD 4 asks for dormers to sit at least 0.5 metres below the ridge, 0.5 metres in from the sides of the roof and 0.5 metres above the eaves, and says front dormers are rarely acceptable.

Building work in Hanwell: common questions

Do I need planning permission for a side-return extension in Hanwell?

Inside Hanwell's conservation areas, yes, because side extensions on designated land are not permitted development. Outside them, a single-storey side extension can be permitted development if it is no more than half the width of the original house and no higher than 4 metres.

What are Hanwell's conservation areas?

Churchfields, Cuckoo Estate, Hanwell Cemeteries, Hanwell Clock Tower, Hanwell Village Green and part of St Mark's Church and Canal. Ealing publishes appraisals and management plans for them.

- Local planning authority: London Borough of Ealing
- Postcode districts: W7
- Work Mirion has carried out here: Extensions, loft conversions and renovations