Enfield Development Finance: 1 Unit Residential Scheme at 31 Woodgrange Gardens Enfield EN1 1ER Enters the Pipeline

Enfield development finance is back in focus this month after a new application landed on the borough's planning register for a property in the north of the town. Application 26/02248/FUL, covering 31 Woodgrange Gardens, Enfield, EN1 1ER, was received on 1 June 2026 and is currently pending decision, according to the London Borough of Enfield planning register on Idox.

The scheme itself is modest in scale but typical of the small residential conversions running through Enfield's pipeline at present. The proposal is a change of use from Use Class C3, a standard dwelling house, to Use Class C4, a house in multiple occupation. The application includes a rear dormer, front roof lights, changes to the rear elevation, and new amenity, cycle and refuse storage. It is a single-unit scheme, and per the planning register, Construction Capital estimates the gross development value at £445,000 once complete.

This sits within a wider trend we track across the borough: small landlords and developers converting existing dwellings into HMOs to capture stronger rental yields, rather than building from scratch. Our Enfield location page tracks these applications as they move through committee, and schemes like this one at Woodgrange Gardens are a useful marker of appetite in the area.

From a funding perspective, a single-unit C3 to C4 conversion with a rear dormer and elevation changes is a straightforward refurbishment case rather than a ground-up build, but it still needs to be financed correctly. Lenders will look closely at the build cost against the £445,000 GDV to set the loan-to-GDV ratio, and specialist commercial lenders typically fund refurbishment and light conversion schemes up to somewhere in the 65 to 75 per cent range of GDV, with the balance made up from the borrower's own equity or a second charge. Because the works are internal and structural rather than a full new-build, bridging specialists are often a better fit than a full development facility, particularly where the timeline to completion is short and the exit is a straightforward sale or refinance onto a buy-to-let mortgage once the HMO licence is in place.

Sponsors moving on schemes of this size in Enfield should have a build cost schedule, a realistic programme for the dormer and roof light works, and HMO licensing requirements confirmed with the council before approaching lenders. Challenger banks and bridging specialists active in this part of north London will want to see planning consent secured, not just applied for, before committing terms, so timing the funding conversation to sit alongside the decision date matters. Getting the finance structure agreed in principle now, while the application is still live, means a sponsor can move quickly once consent is granted rather than losing weeks to a standing start.

Our desk continues to monitor applications across Enfield as they are submitted and decided, and we expect more small-scale HMO conversions like this one to come through over the rest of the year as landlords respond to rental demand in the borough. We will update this piece once a decision is issued on 26/02248/FUL.