Loft conversions in Solihull

Shirley, Olton and the interwar semis

Much of Shirley and Olton was built between the wars and after, with long roads of semi-detached houses, many with hipped roofs, and plenty of bungalows. The usual conversion for a hipped semi is a hip-to-gable change with a rear dormer, and for a bungalow a dormer with a new staircase, often within the 50 cubic metre permitted development allowance; where planning permission is needed, Solihull Council's House Extension Guidelines set the design rules.

Conservation areas in the borough

Solihull Council lists 20 conservation areas, including Knowle (designated in 1968), Olton and Solihull town centre. Inside them, roof extensions need planning permission. The council publishes appraisals that describe what each area's character depends on, and those are the starting point for any design.

Building Regulations approval in Solihull can come from the council's building control team or from a registered building control approver; either way the technical standards are the national ones.

Solihull Council's own rules for dormers

Where a loft conversion needs planning permission, Solihull Council judges the dormer against its House Extension Guidelines, a supplementary planning document from February 2010 that is still on its list of adopted guidance. The council does not give pre-application advice on householder work and refers owners to these guidelines instead. They ask for dormers that are modest, sit within the roof slope away from its edges, stay below the ridge and keep their lower edge above the eaves. Large rear box dormers should be avoided, wrap-around dormers will not be permitted, most side dormers are described as clumsy, and chimney stacks should be kept. The guidelines warn that a house may not suit a loft conversion if its dormer cannot meet these points.

Knowle, Dorridge and Bentley Heath add a second layer. Their neighbourhood plan, adopted by the council on 11 April 2019, says side and roof extensions must be proportionate in scale and respect the existing style. In Dorridge's Granville Road conservation area, which is mostly three-storey Victorian semis in red brick, tile, stone and timber detailing, extensions must respect that Victorian character.

Not every protected estate is old. The White House Way conservation area, off Blossomfield Road about a mile from the town centre, protects the first phase of a 1960s private estate, and its Article 4 direction means even new dormer windows or rooflights there need planning permission.