42B West Common Harpenden Hertfordshire AL5 2JW Data via plota.co.uk

5/2026/0813 - HSE Approved

Proposal

Proposed roof alteration, loft conversion, dormer projections, garage conversion and alterations Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
22 Apr 2026
✓
Validated
23 Apr 2026
✓
Approved
1 Jul 2026

Approved on 1 Jul 2026 · Delegated · Last checked 18 Sept 2026

Site constraints 9

Harpenden conservation area
Demolition needs planning permission and permitted development is restricted.
The council must give weight to preserving or enhancing the area's character and appearance. Not every council has published its boundaries as open data.
Council document ↗
Habitat network: Network Enhancement Zone 2
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
Also on the record
1 listed building within 150 m of the postcode pin; Radon affected area, class 2; Inside the Harpenden built-up area; Green belt about 33 m away: London; Priority habitat about 32 m away: Deciduous woodland; Open access land about 31 m away: Access Land - Combined Open Country, Registered Common Land and Section 16 Dedicated Land. MoD Byelaw, Section 28 Exclusions, Racecourses and Aerodromes and ECP Margin have been removed.; Natural England's Provisional ALC map (1:250,000, 1970s) had this area as grade 3, but it predates the buildings here and the current map does not class it as farmland.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · No scheduled monument at the site

Checked on 6 October 2026. The pin for this application is the centre of its postcode rather than the building, so distances to nearby designations are measured from the postcode and can be out by the width of the postcode area. Historic England, the Environment Agency, Natural England, the British Geological Survey and UK Health Security Agency (radon, contains BGS materials © UKRI) and council datasets, Open Government Licence. A boundary can run through a site and the council holds the definitive record: confirm with the council before relying on this.

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Important details

Council
St Albans
Application type
HSE
Postcode
AL5 2JW
Received
22 Apr 2026
Validated
23 Apr 2026
Ward
Harpenden West
Parish
HARPENDEN TOWN
Target decision
13 Jun 2026
Decision
DC3 Conditional Permission
Decision date
1 Jul 2026
Decision level
Delegated
Applicant
Show

How this decision compares

Decided in 69 days from validation, 12 days faster than St Albans's median of 81 for extensions. Approved, as 85% of extensions here are.

28%decided within 8 weeks
85%approved
633decided in the last year

Plota live figures for extensions decided by St Albans in the last twelve months, from validation. St Albans decision record →

Consultation & key dates

Alt. reference
321215PLN
Comments by
13 Jun 2026
Site or press notice
21 May 2026
Statutory expiry
17 Jun 2026
Env. assessment
No
St Albans
Planning Authority Score
1.1/10
Poor
#290 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Householder decisions

St Albans is one of the slowest councils in England for householder decisions, ranking #285 out of 296. The council extends the time limit on 64% of applications - one of the highest rates in England. Expect your application to take longer than the standard deadline. Householder applications are slightly less likely to be approved here (88%) than the national average (90%).

Among the slowest councils in England
for householder decisions
These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
St Albans decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
87%
Overall approval rate
Above avg (87%) #180 of 296
88%
Householder approved
Below avg (90%) #226 of 296
29%
Decided in 8 weeks
Below avg (63%) #285 of 296
64%
Extended time limit
Above avg (41%) #278 of 296
74%
Minor dwellings approved
130 decided (1-9 homes)
61%
Major dwellings approved
18 decided (10+ homes)
77%
Change of use approved
26 decided
1,411
Total decisions
184 refused in the year to March 2026