Builders in Finchley

Finchley has one of the most varied housing stocks in Barnet. Church End and East Finchley have Victorian and Edwardian terraces and semis with outriggers and side returns; West Finchley and Woodside Park are 1920s–30s semis and detached houses on generous plots, with the Woodside Park Garden Suburb streets named after Sussex villages; North Finchley around Ballards Lane mixes both. The Dollis Valley side has larger Edwardian villas. Three Barnet conservation areas sit within Finchley: Finchley Church End, Finchley Garden Village and Moss Hall Crescent.

Finchley is in the London Borough of Barnet. Outside the three conservation areas, permitted development applies to houses in the usual way: single-storey rear extensions, rear dormers and hip-to-gable conversions are the routine approvals. Inside Finchley Church End, Finchley Garden Village and Moss Hall Crescent, roof alterations and side extensions need planning permission and are judged on the appraisal for each area; Finchley Garden Village in particular has a strong, consistent character that the council protects. New houses on garden and infill plots — as at Northiam Road — need full planning permission and are assessed on spacing, character and parking; pre-application advice from Barnet is worth the fee on these.

Side-return and wraparound kitchen extensions on the Victorian terraces of Church End and East Finchley; hip-to-gable lofts and rear extensions on the 1930s semis of West Finchley and Woodside Park; whole-house renovations of larger Edwardian houses near the Dollis Brook; and new-build houses where a plot justifies it. Basement conversions are less common here than in Highgate but appear on the sloping sites near the brook.

Woodside Park and West Finchley have wide roads and off-street parking, which makes deliveries and skips easy; Church End and East Finchley terraces are tighter and often need parking suspensions. Tree preservation orders are common on the garden-suburb streets and affect both foundation design and what can be built near a protected tree. The Northern line makes site visits with clients who work in town straightforward.