Regions we cover
LINX Design & Build takes on architecture, planning, extensions, loft conversions, renovations and new builds across Hampshire, including Winchester, Southampton, Portsmouth, Basingstoke and the New Forest. One in-house team designs the work, secures approval from the right council or National Park Authority and builds it, starting with a free survey and a fixed-price quote.
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Design & build
Hampshire has 11 district and borough councils, two unitary cities in Portsmouth and Southampton, and two National Parks that act as their own planning authorities. The New Forest National Park Authority and the South Downs National Park Authority decide applications inside their boundaries, so a house in Brockenhurst or Petersfield follows different policies from one a few miles outside the park.
South Hampshire also carries environmental requirements that mainly affect new homes. Development draining to the Solent has had to show nutrient neutrality, and new homes near the Solent coast and the Thames Basin Heaths in Hart and Rushmoor need recreational mitigation. Householder extensions are rarely affected, but new houses and self-contained annexes can be, so we check this before design starts.
Portsmouth and Southsea are dominated by tightly packed Victorian and Edwardian terraces, many of which suit rear dormer lofts and rear or side-return extensions. Southampton and Eastleigh add Edwardian and interwar semis, Winchester has Georgian and older town houses, and the New Forest has brick, cob and thatched cottages. Around Basingstoke, Fleet, Farnborough and Andover, post-war expansion and modern estates provide family homes that often suit rear extensions, garage conversions and hip-to-gable lofts.
Our services
Our architects design for Hampshire's range of settings, from Southsea terraces to New Forest cottages, and to the policies of the specific council or National Park Authority.
Find out more 02We identify the right planning authority, including the two National Park Authorities, and prepare applications, prior approvals or Lawful Development Certificates accordingly.
Find out more 03Rear and side-return extensions suit Portsmouth and Southampton terraces, while detached homes around Winchester, Fleet and Romsey suit larger single and two-storey extensions.
Find out more 04A rear dormer is a practical way to add a bedroom to a Southsea terrace; inside the National Parks or a conservation area, a loft conversion needs planning permission.
Find out more 05We renovate Victorian terraces, Georgian town houses and older cottages, including listed buildings in Winchester and elsewhere where listed building consent is required.
Find out more 06We design and build new homes and replacement dwellings, checking National Park policy, nutrient neutrality and recreational mitigation before the 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
Inside the New Forest National Park, the New Forest National Park Authority decides planning applications, and inside the South Downs National Park the South Downs National Park Authority does, rather than the district council. Both parks are Article 2(3) land, so permitted development is more limited than elsewhere in Hampshire. Towns such as Lymington and Ringwood sit outside the New Forest park boundary. We confirm which authority covers your address before design starts.
In many cases, yes. A rear dormer on a terraced house in Southsea or Portsmouth can be permitted development if it adds no more than 40 m³ of roof volume, stays off the front roof slope and uses similar materials. A number of Southsea streets are in conservation areas, though, where a dormer needs planning permission, and flats need planning permission in any case. We check your street and apply to Portsmouth City Council for a Lawful Development Certificate where it helps.
Less than elsewhere in Hampshire. The New Forest National Park Authority has a local plan policy that limits the size of extensions to homes in the park, and because the park is Article 2(3) land, side extensions, two-storey rear extensions and the larger prior-approval rear extension scheme are not permitted development. A single-storey rear extension within the standard 3 m or 4 m limits may still be. We review the property's planning history before design starts.
Cost depends on the size and structure of the extension, foundations, drainage, access and the finishes you choose, so we price each Hampshire project individually. After a free survey we give a fixed-price quote. Where a site has extra requirements, such as National Park design standards, matching brick or thatch on an older cottage, or tight access to a Southsea terrace, these are included in the quote rather than added later.
Householder applications have an 8-week statutory determination period from validation, whether they go to a district council, to Portsmouth or Southampton, or to a National Park Authority. Prior approval for a larger rear extension is decided within 42 days. Applications in the National Parks or conservation areas can take longer if design changes are requested, and new homes may need extra time for environmental mitigation. We confirm the build programme once approvals are in place.
Yes. We take on projects across Hampshire, including Southampton, Portsmouth, Southsea, Fareham, Havant, Eastleigh, Winchester, Romsey, Andover, Basingstoke, Fleet, Farnborough, Alton, Petersfield, Lymington and the New Forest villages. Our in-house team handles the design, the planning approvals and the build, and every project starts with a free survey and a fixed-price quote.