Kitchen extensions with bedrooms above in Merseyside

Merseyside at a glance

Nation: England
Price region: North West England
Postcode areas: CH, L, PR, WA
Towns covered: 42 listed below, plus surrounding villages
Approval route: It may be permitted development if it goes no more than 3 m beyond the original rear wall (counting any single-storey part) and stays 7 m from the rear boundary; otherwise it needs planning permission.
Site visits: Free, no obligation

What a kitchen extension with bedrooms above involves

This service suits you if your kitchen is too small and you also need another bedroom. Building both floors at once costs less than a single-storey kitchen extension now and a first floor later. You get a layout that works for cooking, eating and the garden, a bedroom plan that works upstairs, the approvals your nation needs and the build, carried out by vetted teams working under S&K. Kitchen units are priced separately.

Towns in Merseyside include Liverpool (L1), Birkenhead (CH41), St Helens (WA9), Southport (PR8), Wallasey (CH44) and Bootle (L22). If yours isn't listed, we still cover it.

Guide price in North West England

For budgeting in Merseyside, allow around £53,000–£72,000 (kitchen units and worktops priced separately) for a kitchen extension with bedrooms above with a 4 m × 3.5 m footprint on two floors (28 m² of new floor space). That's based on £1,900–£2,560 per m² including VAT for North West England. These are guides, not quotes. Ground conditions, steelwork and access can move the figure either way.

Spec	Per m²	Typical project
Essential	£1,750–£2,360 per m²	£49,000–£66,000
Standard	£1,900–£2,560 per m²	£53,000–£72,000
Premium	£2,280–£3,080 per m²	£64,000–£86,000

Rules in England

In England, a two-storey rear kitchen extension can be permitted development if it goes no more than 3 m beyond the rear wall of the original house and stays at least 7 m from the rear boundary, with matching materials and roof pitch, outside protected areas. No balconies are allowed. Deeper designs need planning permission, costing £548 (or £575 for applications made from 8 December 2026).

Approval in England: Householder planning application: £548 (or £575 for applications made from 8 December 2026). Lawful development certificate: £274 (about £288 for applications from 8 December 2026). Councils should decide householder applications within 8 weeks of validation.

Building regulations: Building regulations approval (full plans recommended) from the council or a registered building control approver, with a completion certificate at the end.

The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies, so notices may be needed for work on or near a shared wall or boundary.

Getting the design right

Steel beams and the open-plan opening

Removing the old rear wall to make one large room means a steel beam, sometimes several, to carry the first floor and roof. The engineer sizes the steel and its supports, and we decide early whether you want a flush ceiling with the beam hidden or a downstand, as this affects ceiling heights.

Bedrooms over a kitchen

Bedrooms above need an escape window or a protected route to the stairs, plus good sound insulation from the kitchen below. We position the stairs, landing and bedroom doors so the new rooms connect naturally to the existing first floor.

How we work in Merseyside

Free site visit
We visit your home in Merseyside, look at the structure, access and boundaries, and talk through what you want the new rooms to do.
Get it approved
Once you're happy with the design we submit it to the council for Merseyside and deal with any questions from the planning officer.
Detail and price
Construction drawings, engineer's calculations and building control sign-off, then a written fixed price for the build.
Build and sign-off
Vetted teams working under S&K build the extension, and we arrange the building control completion certificate at the end.

Towns we cover in Merseyside

Kitchen extensions with bedrooms above in Merseyside: questions

How much does a kitchen extension with bedrooms above cost in Merseyside?

In North West England our guide is £1,900–£2,560 per m² including VAT, so about £53,000–£72,000 (kitchen units and worktops priced separately) for a 4 m × 3.5 m footprint on two floors (28 m² of new floor space). Essential and Premium specs move that by roughly 8% down or 20% up.

Can I keep using my kitchen during the build?

For part of it. The new structure can be built while your existing kitchen stays in use, but when the rear wall is opened and the new kitchen is fitted there will be several weeks without one. We plan when this happens and help you set up a temporary kitchen elsewhere in the house.

Is it cheaper to build a kitchen extension and bedrooms at the same time?

Yes, in most cases. Building both floors at once means one set of foundations, one roof, one scaffold and one set of approvals. Adding a first floor later means removing the original roof, possibly strengthening the foundations and disrupting the kitchen again. If you think you will need the bedroom, build it now.

Will I need planning permission in Merseyside?

Merseyside is in England. It may be permitted development if it goes no more than 3 m beyond the original rear wall (counting any single-storey part) and stays 7 m from the rear boundary; otherwise it needs planning permission.

Neighbouring areas

All extension services in Merseyside · About kitchen extensions with bedrooms above