Porches and Front Extensions

First and foremost, are you convinced that extending at the front is actually the best way to enlarge your home? Considerable care and attention to detail is required when embarking upon a front extension.Indeed, consent to applications for a front extension is given only in exceptional circumstances. Proposals must be of the highest possible standards of design, enhance the existing property and blend in well with their overall environment to stand any chance of acceptance.

One form of front extension, which can be acceptable, is the addition of front porches. Many early Garden City houses had little more than a small canopy or tiled doorhood over the front door. More ambitious houses, however, often had open porches, some with benches or settles, creating attractive outdoor rooms. All these types of entrance features should be preserved. The current trend for enclosed porch areas can damage the visual impression of the property.

An application for a porch extension is more likely to be accepted where porches exist as a feature of other properties in the immediate vicinity of your home. However, where the addition of a porch will result in breaking the symmetrical appearance of neighboring properties, consent may be refused. Any front extensions should be of minimal depth and bulk to ensure that they are not unduly prominent and do not detract from the local environment. New porches, which are generally enclosed, need to be designed in sympathy with the style of the building to which they relate and the same basic designand construction principles apply to porches as they do to other extensions.

The addition, alteration or removal of any porch will require permission from the Heritage Foundation and, if the porch is a significant size, height or in a prominent position, it may also require Council District Council planning permission. One consideration will be the visual effect that a porch, or its removal, may have on the symmetry of a particular group of houses. For Listed Buildings, the removal, addition or alteration of a porch will always need Listed Building Consent.