Regions we cover
LINX Design & Build takes on architecture, planning, extensions, loft conversions, renovations and new builds across Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. One in-house team designs each project, secures approval from Buckinghamshire Council or Milton Keynes City Council and builds it, with a free survey and a fixed-price quote at the start.
Tell us about your project — we'll come back with next steps and a time for a free survey.
Design & build
Since April 2020, most of the county has been covered by a single unitary authority, Buckinghamshire Council, which replaced the Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks and Wycombe district councils. Until its new county-wide local plan is adopted, applications are still assessed against the local plan for the former district area, so the policies that apply in Amersham differ from those in Aylesbury.
The Chilterns National Landscape runs across the south and centre of the county, and much of the south is Metropolitan Green Belt, so many homes around Amersham, Chesham, Great Missenden, Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross face one or both sets of controls. Milton Keynes, a separate unitary authority, has very different housing: planned estates built since the 1970s, where planning conditions can shape what may be added.
Buckinghamshire's housing mixes Chiltern brick-and-flint cottages, Georgian town houses in Marlow, Amersham and Buckingham, and the 1920s and 1930s Metro-land houses built along the Metropolitan line through the Chalfonts and Amersham. Around Haddenham, some older buildings use witchert, a local earth walling that needs specialist care. Milton Keynes has planned estates built from the 1970s onwards, which often suit rear extensions, garage conversions and loft conversions, while larger detached homes around Gerrards Cross and Beaconsfield suit two-storey and wrap-around extensions.
Our services
Our architects design for Chiltern brick-and-flint cottages, Metro-land houses and modern Milton Keynes homes alike, working to the relevant local plan from the start.
Find out more 02We prepare applications to Buckinghamshire Council or Milton Keynes City Council, including Green Belt and National Landscape cases, and check estate conditions on newer homes.
Find out more 03Rear, side and two-storey extensions suit the county's semis and detached houses; in the Chilterns and the Green Belt, pre-application advice can help settle size and materials early.
Find out more 04Hip-to-gable and rear dormer conversions suit Metro-land and 1930s semis, while Chiltern cottages more often take rooflights or carefully designed dormers with planning permission.
Find out more 05We renovate period cottages and family homes across the county, using breathable, traditional materials where older walls need them and applying for listed building consent where required.
Find out more 06We design and build replacement dwellings and infill homes, taking account of Green Belt policy in the south and Chilterns design guidance across the National Landscape.
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
In most cases, yes, for anything beyond a modest rear extension. The Chilterns National Landscape is Article 2(3) land, so side extensions, two-storey rear extensions, cladding and loft conversions cannot be built under permitted development there, and the larger prior-approval extension scheme is unavailable. A single-storey rear extension within the standard 3 m or 4 m limits can still be permitted development. Buckinghamshire Council expects designs to respect Chilterns materials and character.
Usually, yes. Many 1920s and 1930s semis in Amersham, Chalfont St Peter and Chalfont St Giles suit a hip-to-gable or rear dormer conversion, and outside conservation areas and the Chilterns National Landscape these can be permitted development, within 50 m³ of extra roof volume for a semi-detached house. Where the house is in the National Landscape or a conservation area, the conversion needs planning permission. We check this at the feasibility stage.
Often, but check the property first. Standard permitted development allows a single-storey rear extension of 3 m on an attached house or 4 m on a detached house, or 6 m and 8 m through prior approval. On some Milton Keynes estates, the original planning permission removed these rights by condition, so a householder application is needed instead. We check the planning history for your address with Milton Keynes City Council before design work begins.
Every project is priced individually after a free survey, and we then give a fixed-price quote rather than an estimate that can drift. The figure depends on the design, structure, foundations, access and specification. In Buckinghamshire, factors such as flint or brick to match a Chiltern cottage, Green Belt design limits or estate conditions in Milton Keynes can affect the cost, and they are included from the start.
Householder applications to Buckinghamshire Council, and to Milton Keynes City Council, have an 8-week statutory determination period from validation. Applications in the Chilterns National Landscape, the Green Belt or a conservation area may take longer if the council requests design changes. Prior approval for a larger rear extension is decided within 42 days. Build time depends on the scope and is confirmed once the design and approvals are in place.
We take on projects across the whole county and Milton Keynes, including Amersham, Chesham, Beaconsfield, Gerrards Cross, the Chalfonts, Great Missenden, Marlow, High Wycombe, Princes Risborough, Wendover, Aylesbury, Haddenham, Buckingham and Olney. Every project starts with a free survey at your home, followed by a fixed-price quote from our in-house design, planning and build team.