Shade, Structure and Style — Year-Round Outdoor Living
A well-positioned pergola transforms a patio from a summer-only space to a year-round outdoor room. Whether you want a simple timber overhead structure for climbing plants, a fully louvred aluminium pergola with adjustable roof slats and integrated lighting, or a bespoke garden structure to define a seating or dining area, Premium Landscapes designs and installs pergolas across Leicester and Leicestershire. As your local landscaper in Leicester and a trusted landscaping company, we design pergolas that integrate cleanly with the rest of your garden.
We supply and install pergola structures from leading UK manufacturers, alongside bespoke timber-framed designs built to your specific measurements — including built-in seating, raised planting sections and integrated lighting as part of the same installation.
Traditional timber pergolas — typically pressure-treated softwood or naturally durable hardwood — provide a classic garden structure that ages well and supports climbing plants such as wisteria, roses, clematis and jasmine. Timber pergolas are available in a wide range of sizes and profiles, from simple post-and-beam structures to detailed decorative designs with chamfered posts and shaped rafter ends. Timber pergolas can be painted or stained to match fencing, decking or garden furniture, and are typically the most cost-effective option for straightforward garden overhead structures.
Aluminium louvred pergolas use adjustable roof slats that open and close to control sun and rain — creating a genuinely weatherproof outdoor living space that works year-round. The best systems include motorised slats, integrated guttering that channels rain through the posts, built-in LED lighting in the rafters, and optional side screens or glass walls. For homeowners who want to maximise outdoor living time regardless of the British weather, a louvred aluminium pergola is the most practical solution. They require zero maintenance — no painting, no sealing, no rot.
Composite pergolas use the same wood-plastic composite material used in quality decking — giving the warmth and texture of timber with none of the maintenance requirements. Composite pergola components are available in a range of colours and profiles and are typically used where low maintenance is a priority but the client prefers the appearance of wood over aluminium.
Beyond standard pergola frames, we build bespoke garden structures including: garden arches, arbours, raised seating platforms with overhead canopies, garden bars with overhead shelter, and covered outdoor dining areas. These are designed and built to the specific dimensions and requirements of your outdoor space.
| Pergola Type | Typical Installed Cost |
|---|---|
| Timber pergola (standard) | £1,800 – £4,500 |
| Timber pergola (bespoke) | £4,500 – £12,000+ |
| Composite pergola | £3,500 – £8,000 |
| Aluminium louvred pergola | £6,000 – £18,000+ |
Costs depend on size, specification, post depth requirements, and any integrated features (lighting, screens, planting sections). Foundations are included — we do not quote structure costs separately from the groundwork.
The right position for a pergola depends on sun orientation, views, how you plan to use the space, and what you want to screen or frame. We assess all of these at the site survey stage — most Leicester gardens have at least one or two positions where a pergola adds significantly more value than others.
Key considerations:
A pergola adds the most value when it's designed and installed as part of the wider garden scheme — rather than added to an existing patio as an afterthought. When the pergola posts can be positioned during patio installation, the foundations integrate cleanly with the slab layout. Integrated lighting can be run underground in conduit during the same groundwork phase. The result is a seamlessly finished space rather than a structure that was clearly added later.
If you're planning a new patio, decking area or full garden redesign, include the pergola in the initial design. We produce AI-generated visualisations that show the pergola in context — so you can see exactly how the finished space will look before any work begins.
Most garden pergolas in Leicester and Leicestershire are classed as permitted development and do not require planning permission, provided they fall within the GPDO Class E rules for garden structures: they must not cover more than 50% of the curtilage (garden excluding the house), must not be higher than 2.5m at the eaves (or 4m for a dual-pitched roof structure), and must not be positioned in front of the principal elevation of the house.
If your property is in a conservation area — such as parts of Stoneygate, Oadby or Loughborough town centre — or if it's a listed building, different rules apply and you should check with the relevant local planning authority before proceeding. We advise on this during every free site survey.
Combining a pergola with a patio is one of the most popular garden upgrades we carry out in Leicester. The pergola defines the dining and entertaining zone, provides a structure to hang outdoor lighting from, and — with the right roofing option — gives partial weather protection so the patio is usable even on overcast evenings. We design pergola-over-patio combinations as a single project, so the patio slab layout, the post positions and the lighting installation are all planned together and built in the correct sequence.
See our patio installation page for material options that work well under a pergola.
Louvred aluminium pergolas have adjustable roof blades that can be opened fully for sun or closed to provide near-waterproof shelter during rain. They're available with integrated guttering, LED strip lighting inside the blades and side panels (glass, polycarbonate or fabric screens) for privacy and wind protection. The aluminium frame is powder-coated and maintenance-free. Louvred pergolas are a larger investment than a standard pergola — we can provide indicative costings during a free site survey.
The most practical pergola projects we install include integrated garden lighting: LED spots on the internal face of the beams, festoon or bistro-string lighting across the structure, or IP65-rated downlighters recessed into timber purlins. All lighting is installed on a low-voltage transformer with a weatherproof controller. When the pergola is part of a wider garden design, we coordinate the lighting zones across the patio, pergola and surrounding beds from a single installation. See our garden lighting service for more details.
Most pergolas installed under permitted development rights don't require planning permission. The main rules: structures within 2m of a boundary must not exceed 2.5m in height; structures further from a boundary can be up to 3m (or 4m with a ridged roof). Conservation area and listed building rules differ. We advise at survey stage.
A properly treated softwood pergola lasts 15–20 years. Hardwood pergolas last 25–40 years depending on species. Aluminium and composite pergolas come with 20–25 year manufacturer warranties and effectively last indefinitely.
Yes — provided the structure is designed with this in mind. Wisteria is particularly heavy and vigorous; timber pergolas for wisteria should use heavy-section posts and beams (minimum 100×100mm posts) with substantial fixings. We factor this in at design stage if climbing plants are part of the brief.
Yes. Integrated LED lighting in the rafters, post-mounted uplights and festoon lighting run on concealed fixings are all standard additions. Power supply is run underground during installation and connected to an external socket or fusebox by your electrician.
Premium louvred aluminium systems are effectively weatherproof — the slats close to create a watertight roof and water drains through internal channels in the posts. Standard timber and composite pergolas provide shade and partial rain protection but are not fully weatherproof.
Tell us roughly where the pergola will go and what you want from it — we'll come back with options and an itemised price.
Get My Free Quote & Design