Regions we cover
LINX Design & Build takes on architecture, planning, extensions, loft conversions, renovations and new builds across Berkshire, from Reading and Wokingham to Windsor, Maidenhead and Newbury. One in-house team designs each project, secures approval from the relevant unitary council and builds it, starting with a free survey and a fixed-price quote.
Tell us about your project — we'll come back with next steps and a time for a free survey.
Design & build
Berkshire has no county council: planning is decided by six unitary authorities, from the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the east to West Berkshire Council around Newbury. The east of the county is largely Metropolitan Green Belt, while much of the west lies within the North Wessex Downs National Landscape, so the rules for the same project can change considerably from one end of Berkshire to the other.
The Thames shapes much of the county too. Homes near the river in Maidenhead, Windsor, Datchet, Wraysbury, Reading and Pangbourne can sit in flood zones, and heathland around Bracknell, Crowthorne and Sandhurst is protected as part of the Thames Basin Heaths, which affects new homes. Both are checked before design work begins.
Berkshire's towns are rich in Victorian housing, including Reading's terraces of patterned red and grey brick and the villas of Caversham and Maidenhead, with Georgian and older buildings in Windsor, Eton, Newbury and Hungerford. Bracknell grew as a post-war new town, Wokingham and its villages have large areas of later 20th-century and modern homes, and Ascot and Sunningdale are known for substantial detached houses. Terraces suit rear and side-return extensions and dormer lofts; modern homes often suit rear extensions and garage conversions.
Our services
We design for Berkshire's very different settings, from Reading terraces and Thames-side homes to Green Belt properties and North Wessex Downs villages.
Find out more 02We submit applications to the correct unitary council and coordinate the extra reports Berkshire sites often need, such as flood risk assessments near the Thames.
Find out more 03Rear, side and wrap-around extensions suit Reading and Caversham terraces, while larger detached houses in Ascot, Sunningdale and Wokingham suit two-storey extensions.
Find out more 04Rear dormer and hip-to-gable loft conversions suit Berkshire's terraces and semis; in the North Wessex Downs, in conservation areas or for flats, they need planning permission.
Find out more 05We renovate Victorian, Georgian and later homes across Berkshire, including listed buildings in Windsor, Eton and Newbury where listed building consent applies.
Find out more 06We take on replacement dwellings and infill houses, checking Green Belt policy, flood risk and Thames Basin Heaths mitigation before a design is fixed.
Find out morePlanning
How it works
We visit, measure up and talk through what you want to build and what the site allows.
Our in-house team draws the scheme and handles planning or a Lawful Development Certificate, plus Building Regulations.
You get an itemised, fixed price in writing before any work starts.
One team builds it, keeps you updated weekly and hands over with a 10-year structural guarantee.
800+ projects completed since 2017 · 4.9★ from 500+ reviews · See our starting prices
Questions
Yes. Most of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is Metropolitan Green Belt, so an extension that needs planning permission must not be a disproportionate addition to the original house. Permitted development rights still apply in the Green Belt unless they have been removed, so a modest rear extension may not need an application at all. Homes near the Thames may also need a flood risk assessment. We check both at the feasibility stage.
Often not. Many loft conversions to Reading houses can be built under permitted development, adding up to 40 m³ to a terraced house or 50 m³ to a semi-detached house, provided dormers stay off the roof slope facing the road and materials are similar to the existing house. Homes in a conservation area, and flats, need planning permission. We confirm the position for your address and can apply to Reading Borough Council for a Lawful Development Certificate.
Usually, but most need planning permission. Permitted development only allows a two-storey rear extension up to 3 m deep and at least 7 m from the rear boundary, with matching materials and obscure-glazed upper-floor side windows, which many plots cannot meet. Where the house is in the Green Belt, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead also considers whether the extension is proportionate to the original building. We advise on the likely route before design starts.
Yes. After a free survey at the property, we give a fixed-price quote for the agreed scope. We do not price from a generic rate, because the cost depends on the size of the extension, the structure of the house, foundations, drainage, access and the specification you choose. Where a site needs extra work, such as a flood risk assessment or deeper foundations near trees, it is identified and included in the quote.
Householder applications to Berkshire's six unitary councils have an 8-week statutory determination period, counted from validation, and prior approval for a larger single-storey rear extension is decided within 42 days. Green Belt, flood-zone and conservation-area cases can take longer if amendments are needed, and preparing a flood risk assessment in advance avoids validation delays near the Thames. We confirm the build programme once the design is fixed.
Yes. We take on projects across all of Berkshire, including Newbury, Thatcham, Hungerford and Pangbourne in West Berkshire, as well as Reading, Caversham, Twyford, Wokingham, Crowthorne, Bracknell, Ascot, Windsor, Maidenhead, Cookham and Slough. Our in-house team covers the design, the planning approvals and the build, and every project begins with a free survey and a fixed-price quote.