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Black aluminium louvred pergola over an outdoor sofa on a grey porcelain patio behind a red-brick house
Great Bowden · LE16

Louvred pergolas in Great Bowden

Louvred aluminium pergolas supplied and fitted in Great Bowden, on a base built to take them, with the planning position checked first.

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A louvred aluminium pergola in Great Bowden starts from £4,500 supplied and fitted, for a 3m × 4m frame on a suitable existing base. Bigger sizes, motorised louvres, side screens, glass walls and any new base are priced after the site visit. A freestanding pergola in a rear garden is normally permitted development if it stays behind the front of the house, is no more than 2.5m high at the eaves and 2.5m overall within 2m of a boundary, does not sit on a platform more than 30cm high, and together with any sheds or other outbuildings covers no more than half the garden.

Supplied and fitted
From £4,500 (3m × 4m)
Planning
Usually permitted development behind the house
Base
Pads below the clay on most sites
Time on site
Usually one day for the frame

Our 2026 guide prices, all in. Your fixed price comes in writing after the site visit. Council fees checked October 2026.

Louvred pergolas in Great Bowden

What louvred pergolas in Great Bowden usually involve

A louvred pergola is a freestanding powder-coated aluminium frame with a roof of adjustable louvres. Open them for sun and air; close them and the roof sheds rain into gutters inside the frame and down through the posts. Lighting is built in, and the sides can be left open or closed in with screens, glass or blinds.

Great Bowden is a village of greens just north east of Market Harborough, with ironstone, brick and thatched houses around its greens and lanes, and later housing on its edges. It has its own neighbourhood plan, first made in 2018.

We cover Great Bowden (LE16) and the villages around it, including Market Harborough, Little Bowden, Welham, Slawston and Foxton.

Great Bowden specifically

Ground, drainage and conservation in Great Bowden

Great Bowden sits on the clays and mudstones of the Welland valley, which drain slowly, with the River Welland and the Langton Brook to the south. We design for the water first. On the clay around Great Bowden, which shrinks in dry summers and swells in wet winters, a post fixed to a thin slab can move and pull the frame out of square so the louvres bind. Where the patio is not up to it, we put concrete pads under each post, taken down to firm ground, or build a new patio on a proper sub-base.

Great Bowden has a conservation area covering the historic village and its greens, and a neighbourhood plan with policies on design and character, so road-facing changes should respect the materials around them.

Harborough's flood records note the April 1998 flood, when the Welland and the Langton Brook overtopped, affecting part of Great Bowden Lane. You can check any address on the Environment Agency flood map.

Sources: Great Bowden conservation area · Great Bowden neighbourhood plan.

Leicestershire County Council and Harborough District Council

Permissions and fees in Great Bowden

  1. Check the planning rulesA freestanding pergola in a rear garden is normally permitted development if it stays behind the front of the house, is no more than 2.5m high at the eaves and 2.5m overall within 2m of a boundary, does not sit on a platform more than 30cm high, and together with any sheds or other outbuildings covers no more than half the garden. A listed house needs planning permission for one. In a conservation area it also cannot go between the side of the house and the boundary. Planning Portal: outbuildings
  2. TreesTrees in a conservation area need six weeks' notice before work, and protected trees need consent; both are free. Harborough: tree work
  3. PowerLights and motorised louvres run on low voltage from an outdoor supply, put in and certified by a registered electrician.
  4. Design and priceWe check the base, measure up and give you one fixed written price for the pergola, the base and any power.

Council fees and rules checked October 2026. Planning fees are the national fees from 1 April 2026.

Why us

What you get

  • Powder-coated aluminium frame that will not rot, warp or need painting
  • Louvred roof that opens for air and light and closes against rain, draining down through the posts
  • Warm-white LED lighting in the frame, with motorised louvres as an option
  • Privacy louvres, glass walls and sliding doors, blinds and screens added to suit

The specification

  • Survey of the base, levels, boundaries and planning position
  • Existing patio checked; concrete pads or a new patio where it is not up to it
  • Frame set out square and level, posts fixed with stainless anchors
  • Roof water taken to a drain, soakaway or border, not across the patio
  • Low-voltage power put in and certified by a registered electrician where needed
  • Five year workmanship guarantee in writing on the base and installation; the frame carries the manufacturer's guarantee
Pergola post base plate bolted to a porcelain patio, with the drainage outlet at its foot
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Questions

Louvred pergolas in Great Bowden: questions

How much does a pergola cost in Great Bowden?
A louvred aluminium pergola in Great Bowden starts from £4,500 supplied and fitted, for a 3m × 4m frame on a suitable existing base. Bigger sizes, motorised louvres, side screens, glass walls and any new base are priced after the site visit. See our price guides. Your fixed price comes in writing after the site visit.
Do I need planning permission for a pergola in Great Bowden?
A freestanding pergola in a rear garden is normally permitted development if it stays behind the front of the house, is no more than 2.5m high at the eaves and 2.5m overall within 2m of a boundary, does not sit on a platform more than 30cm high, and together with any sheds or other outbuildings covers no more than half the garden. A listed house needs planning permission for one. In a conservation area it also cannot go between the side of the house and the boundary.
Will my patio take a pergola in Great Bowden?
On the clay around Great Bowden, which shrinks in dry summers and swells in wet winters, a post fixed to a thin slab can move and pull the frame out of square so the louvres bind. Where the patio is not up to it, we put concrete pads under each post, taken down to firm ground, or build a new patio on a proper sub-base.
How long does a pergola take to fit?
The frame and roof usually go up in a day once the base is ready. If we are building concrete pads or a new patio first, allow a few extra days for that and for the concrete to go off.
Does a pergola need power?
Only for the lights and motorised louvres. They run on low voltage from an outdoor supply, which a registered electrician puts in and certifies. Manual louvres need no power at all.
Do I need building regulations for a pergola?
Not for an open-sided pergola. If you want all four sides closed in with glass, that can change, so we check it at the site visit.

Request a site visit in Great Bowden

We measure up, check levels and drainage, and send a written proposal with the build-up, the programme and one whole price. No pressure and no follow-up sales calls.

☎Call 07312 132517 Site visit