Garage conversion Bitterne, Woolston and Sholing
Planning a garage conversion in Bitterne, Woolston or Sholing starts with us coming out, free of charge, to measure the garage next to your post-war semi, older villa or newer home east of the Itchen. We draw the room, check the planning and flood position, and give you a fixed price, itemised in full.
- PostcodesSO18, SO19
- CouncilSouthampton City Council
- Typical homesPost-war semis, Victorian terraces, waterside new-builds
(Housing in Bitterne & Woolston)
East of the Itchen: the homes and garages of Bitterne, Woolston and Sholing
Bitterne grew up around the old village crossroads on the hill above the river, and its oldest cottage streets were largely cleared in the 1950s for flats and new estates on former farmland. What remains is a broad mix: semis and detached houses built either side of the Second World War across SO18, a scattering of Victorian and Edwardian houses near the precinct, and later cul-de-sacs filling gaps towards Midanbury and Harefield.
Woolston and Sholing in SO19 have a different story. Streets of terraces and cottages housed workers at the Victoria Road shipyard and staff at Netley Hospital, then the council built large estates after the war on old gravel pits, brickyards and market gardens around Butts Road, Botley Road and North East Road. Since the shipyard closed, Centenary Quay and the Weston Shore developments have added modern houses and flats along the water.
Post-war semis across Bitterne and Sholing
The most common garage in the area is a single brick structure beside a semi, sometimes attached and sometimes set back as a separate block. Converted, it becomes a bedroom, study or playroom reached from the hall. Many of these garages have a flat roof that is reaching the end of its life, so we assess it and price any replacement openly.
Victorian and Edwardian terraces in Woolston
Few of the older terraced streets near the old shipyard were built with garages, so where one exists it is usually a later addition at the back, reached from a rear lane. These outbuildings can make a good workshop, office or gym once the walls, roof and floor have been checked and insulated, with power run out from the house.
Newer homes and recent developments
Houses built in the last few decades, including some of the newer homes towards the waterfront, occasionally include a garage within the ground floor. They convert efficiently, though recent permissions often carry conditions on parking or remove permitted development rights, and some plots sit close to the tidal Itchen. We read the planning conditions and check the flood position before drawing.
(Suits these homes)
Popular garage conversions in Bitterne, Woolston and Sholing
These four suit the garages we expect to find on the eastern side of the city, from the precinct down to Weston Shore.
01Garage to bedroom in Bitterne
Three-bedroom post-war semis in Bitterne and Sholing often have one very small bedroom upstairs. A ground-floor bedroom in the garage gives a growing family more breathing space, or a relative a room without stairs, with a window large enough to meet the escape rules.Find out more
02Integral garage conversion in Bitterne
A number of newer SO18 and SO19 houses tuck the garage inside the main walls. Converting it into a family room or study adds living space at garden level without extending the house, once any parking condition attached to the original permission has been checked.Find out more
03Garage to utility room in Bitterne
Compact post-war kitchens in SO18 and SO19 rarely have room for a washing machine, dryer and sink together. Moving laundry into the garage, with a boot room for coats and wet dog walks from Mayfield Park, frees the kitchen for cooking and eating.Find out more
04Partial garage conversion in Bitterne
Where the drive is short and on-street parking is tight, many owners keep the front of the garage for bikes, tools and bins and convert only the back. That rear section makes a neat office or utility while the garage door stays in place.Find out more
(Planning: Bitterne & Woolston)
Conservation areas, flood risk and Building Control east of the Itchen
A typical Bitterne or Sholing semi can be converted on Building Regulations approval alone. Four local factors can alter that picture.
Check my address for free-
Old Woolston and St Anne’s Road conservation areas
Woolston has five small conservation areas: Old Woolston 1, 2, 3 and 4, and St Anne’s Road, close to the waterfront and the station. Their boundaries were revised in 2010, and Article 4 directions proposed at the time were not approved. Even so, changes visible from the street in a conservation area deserve care, so we confirm whether your house falls inside one.
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The Itchen Valley conservation area
On the Bitterne Park side, the Itchen Valley conservation area follows the river from Woodmill up to Townhill Park, and is mostly parkland and riverside rather than housing. If your home backs onto or sits within its edge, we check the boundary and any listed buildings nearby before treating the conversion as permitted development.
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Waterside homes and flood risk
Parts of Woolston, Weston and the riverside below Bitterne lie low beside the tidal Itchen and Southampton Water. For a garage close to the river, consult the Environment Agency flood map for that address before the floor is designed. If it shows a risk, the floor can be set higher and built from materials that recover better after a wetting to suit the site.
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Building Regulations through the joint service
Any garage becoming a habitable room needs Building Regulations approval. In Southampton that comes from the shared Southampton and Eastleigh Building Control service, or alternatively from a registered approver of your choosing. We submit the application and book the visits, so every inspection stage, from the foundation trench to the finished room, gets signed off.
(Getting around Bitterne & Woolston)
Getting around Bitterne, Woolston, Sholing and nearby streets
Bitterne sits at the meeting of the A3024 and the A334, with the old high street now a pedestrianised precinct and the dual carriageway running past it towards Northam Bridge and the city centre in one direction and the M27 in the other. We cover the whole of SO18 east of the river, including Bitterne Park, Midanbury, Harefield and the streets around Riverside Park, with Bitterne station on the coastal line to Portsmouth.
Woolston faces the city across the Itchen Bridge, the toll crossing opened in 1977, and has its own station on the same coastal line, as does Sholing further east. In SO19 we cover Woolston, Sholing, Weston, Peartree and Itchen, from Centenary Quay and Weston Shore up to Miller’s Pond and the Shoreburs Greenway, and across to the boundary with Netley and the Eastleigh borough.
(Questions)
Garage conversion questions: Bitterne & Woolston
Answers for homeowners in Bitterne & Woolston. Ring us for anything else.
Call 07930 368740Do I need planning permission for a garage conversion in Bitterne?
Normally not. No conservation area covers Bitterne, and converting a garage that adjoins or sits within the house into living space, with no added floor area, is generally permitted development. A listed house, an estate condition stripping out those rights, or an extension added to the scheme would each change that, and we search the council’s records for your address first.
How much is a garage conversion in Woolston or Sholing?
The UK guide is £8,000 – £15,000 for a single garage, £10,000 – £14,000 for an integral garage and £15,000 – £25,000 for a double. A straightforward study in a post-war side garage sits lower in its band; a failing flat roof, a raised floor for flood resilience or a shower room pushes it towards the top. Your survey produces a fixed, itemised figure.
My garage is in a separate block behind the house. Can it be converted?
Often it can, provided you own it outright and it is sound. Garages in a shared block raise extra questions about access, shared walls and any covenants, and a detached garage needs power and possibly water brought across. We check the structure at the survey and tell you honestly whether it makes a sensible room or would be better rebuilt.
Is flood risk a problem for garage conversions near the Itchen?
It can be for a minority of homes. Most of Bitterne and Sholing stands on higher ground, but some streets near the river and Weston Shore are low-lying. The Environment Agency flood map will show whether your street is affected. Where it is, the drawings allow for a higher floor and tougher finishes, and we talk the choices through before you commit.
Will I lose my parking if I convert the garage in Sholing?
You lose the space inside the garage, but the drive in front normally stays. Plenty of post-war garages were built for much smaller cars and barely fit a modern hatchback. Some newer homes have planning conditions requiring parking to be kept, which we check first. A new or wider dropped kerb is a separate application to Southampton City Council.
Neighbouring areas
All our garage conversion types
- Single garage conversion
- Double garage conversion
- Integral garage conversion
- Attached garage conversion
- Detached garage conversion
- Partial garage conversion
- Garage to bedroom
- Garage conversion with ensuite
- Garage to home office
- Garage to living room
- Garage to kitchen
- Garage to home gym
- Garage to utility room
- Garage cinema room
- Garage annexe conversion
(Free survey)
Arrange your Bitterne or Woolston survey
Pop your details in the form and we’ll phone back to fix a visit, measure up and talk about what the new room could be.
- A home visit to measure and discuss the room
- Scale drawings with a fixed price, item by item
- Planning and Building Regulations checked for your address