Reading RG2
A second-phase scheme of first floor side and rear extensions, designed to follow on from the house's current consent. Design options were refined with the client covering elevations, roof form, headroom and a 45-degree daylight check to the neighbour, with the heritage sensitivities of the area built into the approach.
12B Northcourt Avenue in south Reading already has a planning consent. The client, a property developer, asked us to design a second phase of first floor side and rear extensions that would follow on from the current permission and add further accommodation.
We prepared three design options covering the elevations, roof form and headroom, so the client could see which approach gave the best balance of space and planning risk. Headroom at first floor was a particular constraint, and the roof forms were tested to keep the extensions within an acceptable height.
A 45 degree daylight check to the neighbouring property was built into the design from the start. The area also has heritage sensitivities, so materials and proportions were chosen to sit comfortably with the surrounding buildings.
Developers often want to understand the full potential of a property across several applications. We prepare a strategy that lists what has consent, what could be added and what consent route each stage needs, so each application builds on the last.
First floor extensions over existing single storey parts often run into headroom problems where the roof meets the existing eaves. We tested different roof options to find the arrangement that gave usable rooms at an acceptable height.
The 45 degree test is applied to the nearest habitable room window of the neighbour, in plan and elevation. Designing to pass it from the start avoids late revisions.
The scheme shows how we work with developers over several phases, keeping each application consistent with what has already been approved and setting out the relationship to the current consent, the daylight assessment and the heritage context in the planning statement.
Each of the three options was drawn as plans and elevations, so the client could compare the floor area gained, the roof form and the planning risk side by side before choosing a scheme to submit.
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