Builders in Witney | Lynch Brother Homes

Lynch Brother Homes works as builders in Witney and the villages around it, from Ducklington to North Leigh. We extend and renovate houses, convert lofts and garages, and build new homes. We’re based in Cumnor, west of Oxford, and on every job one of our two directors, Henry or John Lynch, is the person you deal with from the survey to handover.

The electrical and plumbing work is done by our own people. Plastering, rendering and decorating stay in the family too, with J & H Lynch and Noble Painting & Decorating, our sister companies in the Lynch Group.

A stone town with a lot of new housing

The old town is built of grey oolitic limestone, which the council’s conservation area appraisal describes as the walling stone throughout. Roofs were traditionally local limestone slate, with some Welsh slate and clay tile, and a few houses are finished in lime render or paint. The blanket trade left its mark too: big stone mill buildings along the Windrush.

If you’re extending a house in the old town, the work has to look like it belongs. That means grey limestone laid to the same courses as the existing walls, lime mortar, and a roof in stone slate or Welsh slate to suit the house.

Most of Witney is newer, of course: Victorian and inter-war terraces and semis, and large recent estates such as Madley Park. These are the houses where loft conversions, rear extensions and garage conversions make the most sense.

Matching stone in practice. On Vernon Avenue in Botley, on the west side of Oxford, we designed and built an oak porch for a stone house. We sourced grey Cotswold stone to match the existing walls and made the oak frame on site. It’s a small job, but getting new stone to sit with old is exactly the skill a Witney extension needs.

Planning with West Oxfordshire District Council

Planning applications in Witney go to West Oxfordshire District Council. Its main policy document is the West Oxfordshire Local Plan 2031, adopted in September 2018, and it publishes the West Oxfordshire Design Guide, which is worth a look before you commit to a design.

The historic core is a single conservation area, Witney and Cogges. Witney was the first conservation area in the district, designated in 1970, and today it takes in Church Green, the Market Square, High Street, Bridge Street, Woodgreen, Corn Street, West End, Newland and Cogges. The council’s character appraisal dates from April 2013.

Just outside town, Hailey and South Leigh both have made neighbourhood plans, so for a house in either parish the council applies the parish plan as well.

Where the house is	What to expect
Outside the conservation area and not listed	Rear dormers and single-storey rear extensions may be permitted development, within set size limits, which our permitted development guide covers.
Witney and Cogges conservation area	Side extensions, two-storey rear extensions, dormers and any other roof enlargement need planning permission, and so does cladding in stone, render or timber.
Listed building	Listed building consent before any work that changes its character, inside or outside.
Flood Zone 2 or 3, or a surface water risk area	A flood risk assessment with any application in Flood Zone 2 or 3, plus a check on surface water risk.

Flooding in Witney isn’t only about the river

In July 2007, about 240 properties in Witney flooded, according to the council’s review. The Windrush caused most of the flooding in the town centre, but the rest came from smaller watercourses such as Madley Brook and the Hailey Road Drain, and from surface water. Madley Park and Burwell Meadow were among the areas hit.

So a house can be at risk even a long way from the river. Before we design an extension, we check the Environment Agency’s long-term flood risk service, which covers both river and surface water flooding. The council’s 2007 flood review has street-by-street detail.

Our work as builders in Witney

Extensions

Rear, side-return and wrap-around extensions, and two-storey extensions. Single-storey extensions mostly cost £30,000 to £50,000. A kitchen extension of around 20 m² comes to about £45,000 to £70,000, with the kitchen on top, and two-storey work usually starts near £55,000 and can top £90,000. The 2026 extension cost guide and our home extensions page go into more detail.

Loft conversions

Expect about £25,000 to £45,000 for a rooflight conversion, £45,000 to £75,000 for a dormer and £50,000 to £80,000 for a hip-to-gable. In the conservation area any dormer needs planning permission, and the council looks hardest at the street side. See our loft conversion page and the loft cost guide.

Renovations, garages and new homes

We renovate stone cottages, Victorian terraces and post-war houses alike. Turning an integral garage into a room is usually £10,000 to £25,000 (more on our garage conversions page), and we take on new builds on single plots.

Kitchens, bathrooms and exterior work

A new kitchen or bathroom often means more than the fit itself, so our trades handle the structural and services work around it too. For the outside of the house, J & H Lynch does rendering and re-rendering, and we fit timber or fibre-cement cladding where it suits the building.

Around Witney

We also work in the villages: Ducklington, Hailey, Curbridge, Crawley, Minster Lovell, North Leigh and South Leigh. The nearby towns have pages of their own: Carterton, Bampton, Eynsham, Woodstock, Burford and Chipping Norton, which also covers Charlbury.

The team behind the work

Lynch Brother Homes is a family business. Henry runs it as managing director, and John as operations director. We hold TrustMark registration and FMB membership, and the Oxfordshire Business Awards made Henry their Young Business Person of the Year in 2025. Read why our accreditations matter.

Witney building questions

Does a Witney extension need planning permission?

It depends on the house. A single-storey rear extension on a house outside the conservation area is often permitted development, up to certain sizes. Inside the Witney and Cogges conservation area, dormers, side extensions and two-storey extensions all need permission. Applications go to West Oxfordshire District Council.

Which streets are in the Witney and Cogges conservation area?

It covers the historic core: Church Green, the Market Square, High Street, Bridge Street, Woodgreen, Corn Street, West End, Newland and Cogges. The council’s conservation area map shows the exact boundary.

Could my house flood if it isn’t near the river?

Yes. When about 240 properties flooded in July 2007, some of the water came from small brooks and drains and some from surface water, not just the Windrush. Check the Environment Agency’s long-term flood risk service, which shows river and surface water risk for your address.

What is the “10-year rule” for a loft conversion?

It’s about planning enforcement in England. If building work needed planning permission and went ahead without it, the council has 10 years from when the work was substantially completed to take enforcement action. Work completed before 25 April 2024 still falls under the old 4-year limit. Building control has its own powers over unapproved work, and every loft conversion needs building regulations approval regardless.

How much will an extension or a loft conversion in Witney cost?

Two-storey extensions start near £55,000, and most single-storey extensions are £30,000 to £50,000. Lofts start at about £25,000 for rooflights and reach £75,000 for a large dormer. Stone walls and stone slate roofs in the conservation area add to the cost.

Which villages around Witney do you work in?

Ducklington, Hailey, Curbridge, Crawley, Minster Lovell, North Leigh and South Leigh, among others. Planning applications in all of them go to West Oxfordshire District Council.

Talk to us about Witney

Ring 01865 420063, or write to us through the contact page. Give us the street name and we’ll look up the conservation area boundary and both flood maps before we visit.