Loft conversions in Harborne
Harborne has three conservation areas with different rules. Moor Pool and Greenfield Road both have Article 4 directions, Harborne Old Village does not, and in all three a dormer needs planning permission. Most of Harborne's terraces and semis outside them follow the ordinary permitted development rules.
- Planning authority
- Birmingham City Council
- Conservation areas
- Moor Pool; Greenfield Road; Harborne Old Village
- Article 4 directions
- Moor Pool and Greenfield Road (Article 4(2))
- Typical houses
- Victorian terraces, Edwardian semis, Moor Pool's Arts and Crafts cottages
- Postcodes
- B17
Moor Pool is a special case
The Moor Pool estate is a garden suburb of about 500 Arts and Crafts houses built between 1907 and 1912. Its character comes from the roofs as much as anything: steep pitches, tiled slopes, gables and small dormers. It is a conservation area with an Article 4 direction, so a loft conversion there needs planning permission and a design that keeps those details. Rear rooflights are usually far easier to agree than new dormers.
The rest of Harborne
Away from the conservation areas, Harborne's Victorian terraces near the High Street often have rear outriggers that suit an L-shaped dormer, within the 40 cubic metre allowance for terraced houses. Harborne's interwar semis, many with hipped roofs, are classic hip-to-gable and rear dormer houses with 50 cubic metres to work with.
Harborne Old Village and Greenfield Road cover smaller groups of streets; Greenfield Road's Article 4 direction means even modest roof changes there are worth checking with the council first.
Questions from Harborne
Can I convert the loft of a Moor Pool house?
It can be possible, but Moor Pool is a conservation area with an Article 4 direction, so you need planning permission and a design that respects the estate's Arts and Crafts roofs. Rear rooflights are usually the most straightforward option.
Is Harborne High Street in a conservation area?
Harborne Old Village is a conservation area without an Article 4 direction. Check the council's boundary map for your exact address, because the boundary does not follow the High Street alone.
What conversion suits a Harborne semi?
Where the semi has a hipped roof, a hip-to-gable change with a rear dormer gives the most space, often as permitted development within 50 cubic metres if the house is outside the conservation areas.
Ask about a loft conversion in Harborne
Give us the postcode and we will check the planning position for your street before we visit.