Prime Residential Builders
in Barnet & Totteridge

A London prime contractor, minutes from Barnet & Totteridge

Crown Building has been delivering prime residential construction since 2013, and Barnet & Totteridge sits comfortably within the daily operating radius of our Watford headquarters. While much of our work is in the prime central London postcodes, Mayfair, Chelsea, Knightsbridge, Belgravia, our roots, our team and our registered office are minutes away. For homeowners in Barnet & Totteridge, that means a contractor working to a genuine prime residential standard, with senior management close enough to be on site whenever the project needs them.

We do not operate at volume. We compete on execution. The discipline that the best London projects demand, meticulous programming, a trusted specialist supply chain, senior management present on site throughout. Is exactly what we bring to a home in Barnet & Totteridge. The standard does not change with the postcode.

What we build in Barnet & Totteridge

Our residential work spans the full scope of high end building. We deliver architecturally distinctive new build homes, private residence refurbishments and structural reconfigurations, single and multistorey extensions, basement excavations, listed and period property works, and the bespoke joinery and interiors that define a finished home. Each project is delivered as design and build or contractor only, with Crown appointed as your prime residential main contractor, and transparent, itemised pricing from the outset. Commercial occupiers are served by the same teams through our commercial fit out division, and clinical and wellness premises through our healthcare and specialist environments team. Nearby in Hampstead, our £7m Bishops Avenue private residence shows that scope end to end.

Totteridge is knock down rebuild country: generous plots along Totteridge Lane, Totteridge Common and The Ridgeway where architecturally distinctive new builds replace tired mid century houses. Monken Hadley's Georgian conservation area and High Barnet's Victorian terraces sit at the other end of the spectrum, demanding sympathetic, consent aware refurbishment. We are equally at home with both: a ground up contemporary house with full smart home integration, or a period property reconfigured without losing what makes it worth keeping. Our Mill Hill case study, a complete five bedroom new build, sits ten minutes away.

Areas we serve

We cover Totteridge, Whetstone, High Barnet, Monken Hadley, Arkley, East Barnet and New Barnet, with Mill Hill and Edgware alongside: all within easy reach of our Watford base. You can see our full coverage, London within the M25 and a fifteen mile radius of our Watford headquarters, on our areas we cover page.

Totteridge is a triple lock: Green Belt, conservation area and Article 4

Few addresses in London carry three overlapping layers of control at once, and Totteridge is one of them. Totteridge Common is Green Belt as well as conservation area, the conservation area itself was designated in 1968, and an Article 4(2) Direction has applied since 6 May 2008 on top of an earlier 1972 direction.

The practical effect is that work which is permitted development almost anywhere else, including window replacement, hardstanding and many extensions, requires a full planning application here. Around twenty eight per cent of Barnet is Green Belt, and where a Totteridge property sits within it the national tests on openness and disproportionate additions apply as well as the conservation area duty. There is no shortcut through this, and schemes conceived on the assumption of permitted development are the ones that fail.

Barnet's basement policy, and the guidance that is only draft

Barnet adopted a new Local Plan on 4 March 2025, and basements fall under Policy CDH06. The policy itself is criteria based and contains no numeric caps, but its supporting text states that the Council seeks at least fifty per cent of the rear garden to remain free of subterranean development and at original ground level.

There is a separate draft Sustainable Design guidance which proposes firmer numbers: a maximum of three metres beyond the principal rear wall, a maximum of fifty per cent of the rear garden length, single storey only and a front lightwell projecting no more than one metre. That document is draft and not adopted, so those figures are indicative rather than binding. We treat them as a strong signal of how officers will assess a scheme while being clear with clients that they are not yet policy. Barnet has no basement Article 4 direction, so unlike Camden immediately south, permitted development rights for below ground work have not been removed borough wide.

Sixteen conservation areas and a substantial local list

Barnet has sixteen conservation areas and householder Article 4 directions covering Totteridge, Hampstead Garden Suburb, Mill Hill and Monken Hadley among others. Beyond the statutory list of over six hundred and seventy listed buildings, the borough maintains a local list running to more than twelve hundred and fifty entries.

Local listing does not carry the statutory force of listed building consent, but it is a material planning consideration and it shapes how alterations are assessed, particularly in the conservation areas. On the substantial detached houses and generous plots that characterise Totteridge, where schemes tend to involve extensions, outbuildings or replacement dwellings, establishing the designation position for the specific property is the first piece of work rather than an afterthought.

Speak to us about your Barnet & Totteridge project

If you are planning a build, refurbishment or extension in Barnet & Totteridge, call us on 020 3675 3999 or book a free consultation here. Our registered office is Unit 324-B, The Wenta Business Centre, Colne Way, Watford, WD24 7ND.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Crown Building based?

Crown Building's registered office is at Unit 324-B, The Wenta Business Centre, Colne Way, Watford, WD24 7ND. We work throughout London within the M25 and across Hertfordshire and the Home Counties.

Which areas around Barnet & Totteridge do you cover?

We work across Totteridge, Whetstone, High Barnet, Monken Hadley, Arkley, East and New Barnet, plus neighbouring Mill Hill and Edgware.

Do you build new homes in Totteridge?

Yes. Ground up new builds on private plots are a core specialism, see our Mill Hill case study for a complete five bedroom home delivered nearby. We manage design, planning strategy, demolition and construction end to end.