Apex designs and builds loft conversions throughout Steyning and the wider BN44 area, from protected buildings in the old town to the later housing spreading around it. Dormer, hip-to-gable, Velux, mansard and L-shape, with architectural support kept in house. Ask us for a free, no-obligation quote.
Thinking about a loft conversion in Steyning? The question that decides most schemes here is not what the neighbours will see. It is whether your house is listed. A conservation area covers much of the old town, and plenty of owners assume the rules stop at the front elevation. On a listed building they do not. Consent covers the inside as well, so historic roof timbers, the position of a new staircase and the way a new floor is fixed all become part of the application rather than details to settle on site.
That changes what a loft conversion means on those addresses, and it changes the order of the work. The design has to start from what can be kept and what can be altered, and a scheme that would be routine elsewhere in town may need a different structural approach altogether. On the later housing around the old core none of this applies and a conversion runs much like any other. Working out which of the two you are in is the first thing we do, because everything after it follows from the answer.
Working across Steyning and the wider BN44 area, we take a joined-up approach from the first drawing to the finished room. Our in-house architectural support covers layout planning, structural coordination and technical drawings, and can prepare and submit a planning application or Lawful Development Certificate where one is needed, with Horsham District Council as the planning authority. Where listed building consent is involved, that is a separate consent and we would always suggest specialist conservation advice alongside it. We build to current Building Regulations throughout.
Which conversion suits a Steyning home depends on the roof you have, how much of the new floor clears usable head height, and how much the outside is allowed to change. Five types come up across BN44. In the protected part of town that list narrows quickly, and it is more honest to say so at the first visit than to draw something that was never going to get consent.
The workhorse on the later housing around the old town, and the type that returns the most usable floor area for the money. A dormer projects out from the roof slope to give a flat ceiling and standing room across a useful width. On a rear elevation away from the conservation area it may fall within permitted development. Closer in, a dormer is judged on how it sits within the roof rather than simply whether it fits, so size, position and materials get real attention before anything is submitted.
Suited to hipped roofs, where the side of the roof slopes inward rather than rising to a flat wall, which is common on the housing built out from the old town. Rebuilding that slope to a full gable recovers the volume the hip takes away and often makes an otherwise marginal roof workable. It is a visible change to the shape of the house from the side, so it is a straightforward proposition on the later streets and a much harder one within the protected core.
Frequently the right answer in Steyning, and not only because it is the lightest touch. Nothing outside changes beyond the plane of the glazing, so on a protected building it is usually the option with the smoothest route through. We strengthen the structure, insulate, board the floor out and fit rooflights for daylight. On a listed house even this needs care, because the fixings and the work to the historic timbers matter as much as the glazing itself, but the roofline is left exactly as it is.
The biggest change of the five, rebuilding a roof slope to near vertical for maximum floor area and headroom. Full planning permission is almost always required. Within Steyning’s conservation area this is the hardest of the five to achieve, and on a listed building it is harder still, so it belongs to the larger properties on the outer streets rather than the old town. Worth testing with Horsham District Council and a planning consultant before any design time goes into it.
Works where a house has a two-storey rear projection to build onto, with a dormer added to both that projection and the main roof to form an L-shaped upstairs. It gives more than a standard dormer without the planning weight of a mansard, which makes it a useful middle option on the older properties that have the right shape. Not every Steyning house does, so it is one of the first things we check when we walk round.
The best conversion is the one your existing structure and your planning position will actually support, so we design around the house rather than from a template. In Steyning that means being clear early about what is protected and what is not, because the same roof gives you very different options on either side of that line. We would rather tell you at the first visit that a rooflight scheme is the realistic answer than take you through a design for a dormer that was never going to happen.
We are based in Worthing, a short run down the Adur valley, so a site visit or a call-out mid-build is easy to arrange. We work regularly across the villages at the foot of the Downs and know the general planning picture under Horsham District Council, including how differently a job runs inside the old town compared with the housing around it. You get a local team on site, the same standards from first day to last, and a crew that treats your home as somewhere people are living.
Our team and specialist partners work to a finish that stands up to close inspection: level floors, plumb walls, clean plaster lines and well-fitted joinery. In a town where a good deal of the building stock is old and closely looked after, new work has to sit comfortably against what is already there rather than announce itself. All work is carried out to current Building Regulations and we coordinate with your Building Control inspector at the relevant stages. Recent projects are shown in the gallery below.
Six stages carry a Steyning loft from the first visit through to handover. Our in-house architectural support handles design and any planning application, and we do the building. What remains yours is limited, and we say so plainly: Party Wall notices, appointing Building Control, and listed building consent where it applies, each better handled with a surveyor, conservation architect or the council.
We come to your Steyning home, measure floor to ridge, look at the roof structure and work out where a staircase could land. We also establish the planning position early, because whether the property is listed or sits inside the conservation area changes which options are worth drawing at all. You get an honest view before anyone talks about design. No cost, no obligation.
If you already have drawings we will price against them. If not, our in-house architectural support takes the design on, producing the layout and the technical drawings an application or certificate needs. On a protected building the design work is more involved, because the scheme has to be justified as well as drawn. A detailed quote and outline programme arrive alongside the drawings.
Where a planning application or Lawful Development Certificate is needed, our architectural partners can prepare and submit it to Horsham District Council on your behalf. Listed building consent is a separate consent with its own requirements, and we would point you to specialist conservation advice for it. Confirm the position for your own address with the council, and talk to a surveyor or architect about Party Wall requirements before work starts, since those notices are the homeowner's legal responsibility.
Work begins on site once consents, drawings and structural calculations are settled. The length of the programme follows the conversion type and the property, and an indicative one comes with the quote. The opened roof stays weatherproof throughout. In an older building we build to what is actually there, because the structure seldom matches the survey drawing exactly once it has been opened up.
You appoint Building Control, through the council or an approved inspector, and you book the visits. We build to current regulations and give you plenty of warning as each stage becomes ready, so nothing disappears behind plasterboard unseen. On an old roof that discipline matters more, because what sits behind the finish cannot be revisited later.
With the final inspection signed off, we hand over. Keep the completion certificate and everything that came with it, including any planning or consent paperwork, alongside your property records. On a protected building a buyer's solicitor will read it carefully.
A range of completed projects from around West Sussex, covering different property types, roof shapes and conversion styles. Tell us what you have and we will show you the closest comparisons.
The notes below are general context for Steyning homeowners considering a loft conversion and do not constitute legal advice. Always confirm the position for your property with Horsham District Council, and where relevant with an architect, planning consultant or party wall surveyor, before any work starts.
Planning authority. Steyning addresses fall to Horsham District Council.
Conservation area. A conservation area covers much of the old town, where permitted development rights are usually tighter and a full application is more likely.
Listed buildings. Steyning holds an unusually high concentration of them. Listed building consent is separate from planning permission and, unlike planning, it covers internal alterations as well as external ones.
Permitted development. On the later housing outside the conservation area many conversions proceed under permitted development, subject to the usual limits and to any Article 4 Direction.
South Downs National Park. The town sits outside the Park, whose boundary follows the downland to the west and south, so the South Downs National Park Authority is not the authority for town addresses.
Party wall. On semi-detached and terraced homes, serving any Party Wall notice is the homeowner’s legal responsibility and cannot be done by the builder.
Apex works across Steyning and the Adur valley villages, with Bramber, Upper Beeding, Storrington and Henfield inside the same run, so arranging a visit is straightforward and the build keeps its pace once it starts.
The first step is a free site visit. We measure up, assess the roof structure and head height, and set out realistic options against your actual planning position, which in Steyning is the thing that decides how much choice you have. From there our in-house architectural support can take on the drawings and any application, and you will want to confirm the position for your address directly with Horsham District Council and discuss Party Wall requirements with a surveyor or architect before the build starts.
Apex works on loft conversions across Worthing, Brighton & Hove and the wider West Sussex coast. The pages below give a closer look at
the housing, planning and conversion types we see in each area. If your town or village isn’t listed, we likely still cover it, get in
touch for a quick check.
What Steyning homeowners ask us most. Anything not covered below, put it through the contact form and we will come back to you.
It depends on the conversion type, the size and condition of the property, and the consents involved. Rooflight conversions are usually quickest, with dormer, hip-to-gable, L-shape and mansard builds taking progressively longer. In Steyning the consent phase is the part that varies most: a straightforward job on the later housing moves at a very different pace from a protected building where the design has to be justified before it can be approved. We give you an indicative programme for our part of the work at quote stage, and your architect or planning consultant is best placed to estimate the design and consent phase.
It depends where in the town you are. Inside the conservation area that covers much of the old town, permitted development rights are usually tighter, so a full application to Horsham District Council is more likely and details such as dormer position, materials and window design are examined closely. If the building is also listed, listed building consent is required on top, and that consent extends to internal alterations, which catches many owners by surprise. On the later housing outside the conservation area many conversions fall within permitted development, subject to the national limits on volume, position and window design and to any Article 4 Direction. A mansard or a raised roof normally needs permission wherever it is. Where an application or a Lawful Development Certificate is needed, our in-house architectural support can prepare and submit it. Building Regulations apply either way and are separate from planning.
Usually, yes. The roof is kept weatherproof once it is opened and most of the work happens above the existing ceiling. Expect noise and dust at points, particularly during steel installation and when the staircase is cut in. In an older Steyning house the staircase stage often takes longer to plan, because there is rarely an obvious place to put one, and we would rather agree that with you before we start than improvise around it.
A well-built conversion has long been regarded as one of the better returns among home improvements, though the actual figure depends on the property, the quality of the finish and the local market at the time. Steyning is a town people move to deliberately and then stay in, so the usual driver is practical: another bedroom, or a bedroom with an en suite, rather than a quick uplift before selling. On a protected building the quality and appropriateness of the work matter more to a future buyer than the extra square footage alone, so it is worth taking an estate agent’s view alongside ours.
The usual benchmark is about 2.2 to 2.3 metres, measured from the top of the existing ceiling joists to the underside of the ridge before work starts, since the new floor and the roof lining both consume part of it. Steyning’s older roofs are seldom uniform across a span, so a single reading taken at the middle can flatter the space considerably. We measure it properly during the free visit and give you a straight answer.
As a broad steer: on a protected building in the old town, rooflights are usually the realistic starting point, with a modest rear dormer the next step if the position allows it. On the later housing around the town a hipped roof often suits a hip-to-gable paired with a rear dormer, and a house that already has a gable end may need only the dormer. Where there is a two-storey rear projection, an L-shape is worth considering. We will recommend the right option for your specific property at the free site visit.
Yes, on every conversion, permission or no permission, and quite separately from listed building consent. The regulations address structural stability, usually steel beams and strengthened joists; fire safety, covering escape routes, fire doors and alarms; the staircase and its headroom; thermal insulation; and sound separation from the rest of the house. Satisfying all of that in an old building without harming the fabric being protected is precisely why the design stage carries weight here. Appointing Building Control and booking the inspections falls to you, through the council or an approved inspector.
