Kitchen extensions · Leeds, West Yorkshire
Kitchen extensions in Leeds
We design and build kitchen extensions for homes across Leeds: rear, side-return and wrap-around, with the kitchen fitted as part of the job if you want it. We travel to Leeds jobs from our base at Thorp Arch Trading Estate near Wetherby. Call 01937 208224 or use the calculator, then book a visit for a real quote.
What a kitchen extension involves
A kitchen extension is usually more than a new room. Most of the work is in joining the new space to the house: opening up the back or side wall, often with structural steel, so the kitchen, dining and living areas work as one room. Drains are moved or built over, and plumbing, electrics, heating, flooring and lighting are planned in with the kitchen layout. The roof, glazing and doors decide how much daylight you get, and the brick or render has to sit well with the existing house.
That is why we plan the kitchen and the building together. On a timber-frame build things move quickly, so the kitchen design needs to be settled early. At Rothwell, the kitchen design went to Howdens before the frame walls were up.
Rear, side-return and wrap-around kitchen extensions
- Rear extensions
The most common choice: a single-storey extension across the back of the house, opening the kitchen to the garden with French doors, bi-folds or a roof lantern. The Rothwell extension is a single-storey rear extension. - Side-return extensions
Building into the narrow passage at the side of a terrace or semi to widen a galley kitchen. Access, the boundary wall and the neighbour's side matter here, and party wall questions come up often. - Wrap-around extensions
A side and rear extension combined into an L shape, giving the biggest open-plan kitchen and family space. It is the most involved of the three, usually with more steelwork and a planning application.
Two-storey extensions with a bigger kitchen downstairs and bedrooms above are possible too, where the plot and the neighbours allow it. More on every type is on our main house extensions page, and on our page about house extensions in Leeds.
Planning and permitted development in Leeds: the basics
This is a general guide, not planning advice for your house. Leeds City Council is the planning authority, and the rules depend on the house, the plot and its history.
- Permitted development
Some single-storey rear extensions can be built without a full planning application, under national permitted development rules. These set limits on how far the extension comes out from the back of the original house, its height, how close it is to the boundary and how much of the garden it covers. Larger single-storey rear extensions may be possible through the prior approval process, where neighbours are notified first. - When you will usually need planning permission
Most side-return and wrap-around extensions, two-storey extensions close to a boundary, homes in a conservation area, flats and maisonettes, and houses where permitted development rights have been removed by an earlier permission. Leeds has many conservation areas, so check whether yours is in one. - Lawful development certificate
If you are relying on permitted development, you can apply to the council for a certificate confirming the extension is lawful. It is optional, but useful when you come to sell. - Building regulations
Needed whether or not you need planning permission. They cover structure, insulation, drainage, ventilation and fire safety. We build extensions to the Approved Documents, and every estimate from our calculator includes an allowance for building control and build-over. - Party walls
If the work is on or near a shared wall or boundary, the Party Wall Act may mean notifying your neighbour before work starts. Side-return extensions on terraces and semis often fall into this.
If you already have planning permission and drawings, we can price and build from those. If you are not sure where you stand, tell us when you get in touch and we will talk it through on the visit.
How we design and build a kitchen extension
- Guide price. Use the extension calculator for an indicative range. You do not need to leave your name to try it.
- Visit. We look at the house, the garden, access and the drains, and talk through how you want the kitchen to work.
- Design or your drawings. We work from your drawings if you have them, or design the extension with you if you are earlier in the process.
- Quotation. A written quote for your house, not a figure from a calculator.
- Build. We usually offer timber frame first for the walls, which gets the shell watertight quickly so the inside can move on while the brickwork continues.
- Kitchen and finishes. We can fit the kitchen as part of the job, and hand over ready for you to decorate.
Where we work in Leeds
We build kitchen extensions in these parts of the city, and in Wetherby where the city gives way to the villages:
- Rothwell
- Pudsey
- Roundhay
- Meanwood
- Moortown
- Alwoodley
- Headingley
- Farsley
- Wetherby, on the edge of Leeds
If you are in another Leeds neighbourhood, ask before you assume we cannot get there. Wider coverage is on areas we cover.
Calculator, then a visit
The extension calculator gives a guide range for a typical Yorkshire extension, with options for glazed doors, kitchen fit-out labour and a roof lantern. It is an indication, not a quote for your street. Why extension quotes vary explains the difference in plain terms. If you are only replacing a kitchen in the existing room, see our kitchen renovations page instead.
Questions about kitchen extensions in Leeds
Do you have an office in Leeds?
No. We are based at Thorp Arch Trading Estate near Wetherby and travel to Leeds kitchen extension jobs from there. We do not have a Leeds office or a Leeds address.
Do I need planning permission for a kitchen extension in Leeds?
Not always. Some single-storey rear extensions can be built under permitted development, which has limits on depth, height and how much of the garden is covered. Side and wrap-around extensions, homes in conservation areas, flats and houses where permitted development rights have been removed usually need a planning application to Leeds City Council. Building regulations approval is needed either way. Check your own house with the council before relying on permitted development.
Can you fit the kitchen as well as build the extension?
Yes. On our Rothwell kitchen extension we built the extension and fitted the Howdens kitchen. With a timber-frame build the kitchen design is organised early, so it is ready when the shell is.
Is the online calculator a quote for a Leeds kitchen extension?
No. The calculator on our house extensions page gives an indicative range for a typical Yorkshire project. It is not a quotation. A visit is needed before we confirm a price for your house.
Can you build from drawings we already have?
Yes. If you already have planning permission and drawings, tell us when you get in touch. If you are earlier in the process, we can design the extension with you first.
Which parts of Leeds do you cover for kitchen extensions?
We cover Rothwell, Pudsey, Roundhay, Meanwood, Moortown, Alwoodley, Headingley and Farsley, and Wetherby on the edge of Leeds. If your home is elsewhere in Leeds, call 01937 208224 and we will say whether the journey from Thorp Arch is practical.
Planning a kitchen extension in Leeds?
Tell us the area, the type of extension you have in mind and whether you already have drawings. We will confirm we can cover the address from Thorp Arch, and arrange a visit if the project is one we can build.