House Extensions · Tamworth
A space designed for your family, that the council recognises too.
A good extension is judged by how well it works for you, not by a planning document. We design for that first. Tamworth Borough Council also assesses proposals against a published Design SPD, and a genuinely well-designed scheme tends to answer it without trying.
Good to know:
The one thing to know: Tamworth has seven conservation areas and 175 listed buildings, and the council's 2019 Design SPD sets out exactly what it expects from new development in and around them, covering the quality of the built environment and how proposals should respond to historic character. Most rejected extensions don't fail because the idea was wrong. They fail because nothing in your submission shows the council its own document was considered.
Design First approach
What we spend most of our time on.
You'll live with this room far longer than you'll remember the planning process behind it. The bulk of our work goes into getting the space itself right: how it catches the light through the day, how the kitchen opens onto the garden, whether it solves what's been frustrating you about the house. Matching the Design SPD is the check at the end, not the brief we start from.
Starts with what's not working
We come and look at your house as it is, not a generic version of it: where it's tight, where it's gloomy, what your family has outgrown. That's where your brief comes from.
How it feels to be in the room
The position of a window, how a kitchen opens onto the garden, the route from old house to new space. Small decisions, but they're the ones you'll notice every single day, long after the application's been forgotten.
Materials that respect the street
Brick, render, glazing and roofline choices are made to suit your home and its setting near Tamworth's listed buildings, not only to satisfy a checklist.
How it works
Four stages, designed against a named standard.
Each stage exists to make sure your application can point directly at the Design SPD, rather than hoping the council reads the proposal favourably.
Consultation & check
We confirm whether your property sits in one of Tamworth's seven conservation areas or is itself listed, before anything else happens.
Design & feasibility
We sketch how the space could genuinely work for you, with the Design SPD's standards built in from the first sketch rather than retrofitted after a case officer raises a concern.
Submission
Your application goes in with a design and access statement that references the SPD directly, so the case officer's job is to agree, not to dig.
Build support
Building regulations drawings, contractor tender support, and site visits as the build progresses, all handled by the same team that designed it.
start the conversation
Let's design straight at the standard.
A free consultation tells you exactly what your property's heritage status means for your extension, before any design work starts.
Our experience of JSA Architects has been fantastic and we would recommend their services to anyone. From the off, Chris has proved himself to be completely professional, entirely invested, supremely knowledgeable and always at the end of the phone, if needed. His guidance, expertise and support are second to none.
Sarah McCarthy, homeowner
What we do
Beyond extensions.
House extensions are our most requested service here, but they're rarely the only thing a project needs.
House Extensions
Rear, side and wrap-around extensions designed against Tamworth Borough Council's Design SPD from the first sketch, with every conservation area and listed building question answered before submission.
Class Q Conversions
Barn and agricultural building conversions across rural Staffordshire, including the Canwell Estate cow shed conversion near Lichfield, a project that shaped how we approach this specialism more widely.
3D Visualisation
A realistic view of the finished extension before any work starts on site, which tends to settle disagreements about the design faster than a floor plan ever does.
Thinking about extending in Tamworth?
A free consultation tells you exactly what your property's heritage status means for your extension, before any design work starts.
FAQ's
Common Questions
The Design Supplementary Planning Document, adopted by Tamworth Borough Council in July 2019, sets out the standards the council expects new development and extensions to meet, covering the quality of the built environment and how proposals should respond to the historic character of an area. It's a published document, not an informal preference, which means your design is in a stronger position if it visibly answers it than if it doesn't reference it at all.
It depends on your property. Many single-storey rear extensions fall under permitted development rights, but Tamworth has seven conservation areas and 175 listed buildings, and additional controls apply inside them. We check your property's status against both the conservation area maps and the Design SPD before any drawings start.
Yes, and that's where every project starts. We spend time understanding what's not working about your house now, what the extra space needs to do for your family, then design around that. Checking it against Tamworth Borough Council's Design SPD comes after, not instead of, that conversation.
Extension fees here are a fixed amount, set by the size and complexity of your project rather than a percentage that moves with your build cost. That figure is agreed before work starts. The pricing guide breaks down what's covered at each stage.
Yes. Tamworth town centre, Glascote, Wilnecote, Amington and Fazeley all fall under Tamworth Borough Council for planning, and we work across the full borough.
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