This project at 1 Minet Gardens, NW10 8AS involved planning applications, structural engineering, building regulation drawings and party wall surveying for both flats in a single end-of-terrace property, delivered simultaneously on a bridging finance deadline. The ground floor flat needed a single-storey side-to-rear extension. The first floor flat needed a full loft conversion with hip-to-gable roof, rear dormer, and chimney removal. AC Design Solution managed every technical discipline across both flats as one coordinated programme, securing two planning approvals from the London Borough of Brent without a single objection received...
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The Project in Brief
Services: Planning applications, building regulation drawings, structural engineering drawings and calculations, party wall notices and agreements, all managed as a single programme of work across both flats.
Two Flats, One Project, One Deadline
1 Minet Gardens is an end-of-terrace property divided into two self-contained flats. Both leaseholders instructed AC Design Solution at the same time. One needed a ground floor side-to-rear extension. The other needed a full loft conversion. The two sets of works were separate planning applications but from a practical standpoint they formed a single project.
The client at the ground floor flat (1A) was purchasing on bridging finance. Bridging loans carry daily interest costs and strict redemption deadlines. Any delay to planning, structural sign-off or building regulation approval adds real money to the cost of the project. There was no room for a second submission, a revised drawing package, or a request for further information from building control. Everything had to go in right, first time.
AC Design Solution handled planning, structural engineering, building regulations and party wall surveying for both flats under one roof. One team, one programme, no gaps between consultants.
Planning at 1A and 1B Minet Gardens
Both applications were assessed against Brent's Residential Extensions and Alterations SPD (2025), the Brent Local Plan (2019 to 2041) and the London Plan (2021). Neither flat sits within a conservation area. No representations were received from neighbours or the Harlesden Neighbourhood Forum on either application.
The ground floor extension at 1A was designed as a dual-pitched roof structure reaching 2.49m at the shared boundaries and rising to a maximum of 3.5m. It extends 3m from the rear wall of the outrigger and runs the full width of the plot, narrowing from 5.22m to 4.74m as it follows the boundary. A 2m lightwell was incorporated to protect the ground floor bedroom from overshadowing. The officer was satisfied the proposal complied with the SPD in full. Consent was granted under delegated authority on 28 July 2025.
The loft conversion at 1B was a more involved planning exercise. The scheme combined a hip-to-gable roof conversion with an L-shaped rear dormer spanning the main terrace and the rear outrigger, plus two front rooflights. The linked dormer segment over the outrigger marginally exceeded the 50% depth rule in the SPD but the planning officer accepted that an existing chimney to the parapet wall limited its visual impact relative to the neighbouring approved development at No. 3 Minet Gardens. Gabled roofs are well established in the street scene on both Minet Gardens and Minet Avenue. Consent was granted under delegated authority on 25 June 2025.
Structural Engineering
The loft conversion at 1B required comprehensive structural input. Removing the hip roof structure, taking out the chimney and opening up the flat to form the enlarged loft space beneath the new dormer arrangement all needed full structural calculations covering load paths, beam sizing, connection details and the structural design of the new roof.
The ground floor extension at 1A required structural design for the new roof and wall construction, with calculations prepared to satisfy building control. Everything was coordinated with the building regulation drawing package from the outset so the full submission was consistent and complete with no gaps for building control to query.
When the structural engineer and the person producing the technical drawings are working together in the same practice from day one, the coordination problems that cause delays and resubmissions simply do not arise. For more on how we approach residential structural work, see our structural drawings and calculations page.
Building Regulation Drawings
Full building regulation drawing packages were produced for both 1A and 1B, covering structural, thermal, fire safety, drainage and ventilation requirements under the relevant approved documents. Both sets were prepared in-house as part of the same programme, keeping both flats on a single coordinated timeline throughout.
For the bridging finance client at 1A, the building regulation stage carried as much time pressure as planning. A complete submission that answers a building control officer's questions before they have to ask them is not a nice-to-have. On a bridging loan it is a financial necessity, and the drawings were structured accordingly.
Party Wall Surveying
Both sets of works triggered party wall obligations under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. The ground floor extension at 1A affected the boundary with the adjoining neighbour. The structural alterations at 1B, including the chimney removal and works to the roof structure, engaged the party wall provisions relevant to the adjoining owner at first floor level.
AC Design Solution's party wall team served the required notices for both flats, managed the neighbour engagement and secured the agreements needed to allow the build to proceed. Our party wall surveyors are members of the Institute of Party Wall Surveyors (IPWS) and the Faculty of Party Wall Surveyors (FPWS).
Running the party wall process in-house alongside planning and structural work meant no delays waiting for a separate consultant to catch up with the programme. The notices went in at the right time and the awards were in place before structural work was due to start.
The Result
Both planning applications were approved by the London Borough of Brent under delegated authority. No objections were received from neighbours, the Harlesden Neighbourhood Forum or any other consultee on either application. The bridging finance client at 1A got the approvals they needed within the timeline the loan required.
This is what a properly coordinated multidisciplinary instruction looks like. Planning drawings, structural calculations, building regulation packages and party wall notices all produced by the same practice, on the same programme, with no version control issues and no information falling between consultants.
At AC Design Solution, our CIAT Chartered Architectural Technologists and structural engineers have delivered over 10,000 UK projects. If you have a project in Brent or anywhere across London, Essex, Hertfordshire, Surrey or the Home Counties, get in touch to discuss what you need.
Planning a loft conversion or extension in London? Whether you need a technical drawing package, architectural design services, structural engineering, or a practice to handle planning, structural work and party wall surveying together, talk to AC Design Solution before you start.
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