Dormers and loft conversions are decided months before the work starts

Loft conversions reach the register two ways, and both are worth watching. Many are householder applications, usually because the design adds a dormer, raises the ridge, or sits in a conservation area. Others travel as prior approval, or as a certificate confirming the work needs no permission at all.

Either way the council publishes an address and a description months before anyone starts. The wording is direct enough to sort by. "Loft conversion with rear dormer." "Hip to gable roof extension." "Conversion of loft to habitable accommodation with rooflights."

Read a fortnight of those for your area and you have a list of houses that have decided to convert and have not chosen who does it.

Refusals matter as much as approvals here. A dormer refused on design grounds usually comes back revised, and the owner still wants the loft. What happens after a planning decision covers that, and application types explained sets out where prior approval fits.