Builders in Harrow on the Hill

The hilltop village grew up around the eleventh-century St Mary's Church and is home to Harrow School, St Dominic's and John Lyon. Its housing mixes listed and historic buildings with period houses and later homes and flats on the slopes below.

In the 2021 Census, the Harrow-on-the-Hill statistical area had about 2,600 households, split more evenly between houses (44%) and flats (51%) than most of the borough. Many period houses here have already been extended or divided, so a survey of what is original matters before any design work.

Work here tends to involve repair and renovation, using materials that suit older walls and roofs, repairing timber windows rather than replacing them, and designing extensions that sit quietly behind the main house.

If a building is listed, listed building consent is needed for alterations inside as well as out, and carrying out unauthorised works to a listed building is a criminal offence, so we confirm the listing status before any opening-up work.

Harrow's Harrow on the Hill Conservation Areas SPD covers eight areas: Harrow on the Hill Village, Harrow School, Harrow Park, Roxborough Park and The Grove, Roxeth Hill, Sudbury Hill, South Hill Avenue and Mount Park Estate. Each has a character appraisal and management strategy, and the council publishes maps showing any Article 4 directions.

Roof enlargements are not permitted development in a conservation area and side extensions always need permission, so most projects here need a householder application, plus listed building consent if the building is listed. Harrow's planning officers consult the council's Conservation Officer, and the voluntary Conservation Area Advisory Committee is consulted too, so drawings need to show materials and details properly.