Enfield Development Finance: 4 Unit Residential Scheme at 331 And 331A Green Lanes London N13 Enters the Pipeline

A new mixed-use conversion on Green Lanes has landed on our desk this week. Application 26/02846/FUL at 331 and 331A Green Lanes, London N13 4TY, is currently pending decision, and per the London Borough of Enfield planning register (Idox) the proposal is for 4 residential flats. The application was received on 6 July 2026.

The scheme

The plan is a partial conversion rather than a full redevelopment. The existing accommodation above the shop would be split into 3 residential flats, and part of the rear ground floor shop plus the garage would become 1 studio flat. A first floor rear extension is included to make the upper units work. The ground floor retail frontage stays in place, so the finished building would be a shop with four homes above and behind it.

Our desk puts the estimated gross development value at £1,200,000 across the 4 units, based on the planning register details and local sold values for this stretch of Palmers Green. That is a Construction Capital estimate, not a figure from the council, and any lender will want it backed by a RICS valuation before terms are issued.

Where it sits in the Enfield pipeline

Small conversions above shops are a familiar part of the Enfield pipeline, particularly along Green Lanes where long retail parades carry underused upper floors. Schemes of this size rarely make headlines, but they are exactly the type of project that specialist commercial lenders and bridging specialists compete for in outer London, because the exposure is modest and the exit is straightforward.

The finance angle

A four-unit conversion with a retained commercial ground floor typically funds in one of two ways.

The first is a light refurbishment bridge. With a GDV of £1.2m and works limited to internal reconfiguration and a rear extension, bridging specialists would usually look at a facility covering the purchase or refinance plus a works element, with total exposure capped at somewhere between 65 and 75 percent of GDV depending on the sponsor's track record. Rates on this type of facility are commonly quoted monthly, and the term would normally run 12 to 18 months to cover build, sign-off and sale or refinance.

The second route is a true development facility from a challenger bank or specialist commercial lender, which suits a sponsor who wants the works cost funded in arrears against monitoring surveyor sign-offs. On a project this small the monitoring cost can eat into margin, so the bridge route often wins on simplicity.

The mixed-use element matters. Some residential-only lenders will not touch a building with a shop on the ground floor, so the panel narrows before we start. That is not a problem, but it does mean the sponsor should not assume high street buy-to-let style pricing.

The exit

At £1.2m across four units, the average unit value is around £300,000, which is well inside the range for individual sales to first-time buyers and small investors in N13. The alternative is a portfolio refinance onto a commercial investment mortgage, keeping the shop income and four rental units under one loan. Lenders will want to see which exit the sponsor intends from day one, because it changes how the facility is structured.

Our read

If planning is granted, the sponsor should line up three things before approaching lenders: a fixed-price build contract for the extension and conversion works, a valuation covering both the current and end value, and a clear exit strategy with comparable evidence. With those in hand, a scheme at this scale in Enfield should attract competitive terms from several lender categories. Our desk is happy to run the numbers on request.