• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

January 2011 Vol 42 No. 1 Basement disaster - coming to a spot near you! photo: Andrew Morley Contents Coming to a Basement near you! Page Coming to a Basement near you! . 1 Our front page picture demonstrates all too starkly the possible consequences of basement The Basement Campaign: has it been worth it? . 2 development, and why we are so concerned. Tony Hillier Its location in the Camden Town area takes us outside the difficult geology of Hampstead and Chairman’s notes . 5 into the supposedly reliable London Clay Tony Hillier formation of NW1. It shows the most dramatic An award for Camden . 7 example yet of what can go wrong anywhere in Camden, if the proper technical investigations Greed, egos and yet another blot on the horizon . 8 are not carried out by properly qualified experts, both geotechnical and structural, before Athlone House -Sir Simon Jenkins speaks out being rigorously checked by the planning Heath Report . 10 authority. Two semi-detached properties (that Tony Ghilchik were similar to the ones on the right of the picture) have been unintentionally and quite Planning Committee Report . 13 rapidly converted into half a property. Douglas Maxwell Litigation is in progress, so we cannot be too Support the new Belsize Post Office . 14 explicit, but we understand that the then new Gene Adams owner bought the leasehold of the now missing half from Camden, and simply began excavation Town Report - Whitestone Pond . 15 with his own building operation. The two families Frank Harding in the neighbouring flats soon felt the effects. We have seen a photo taken from a first floor Imminent threat to local bobby on the beat . 17 bedroom showing the house on the opposite side Jessica Learmond-Criqui of the road through one of the cracks! The two Oliver Rackham gives the Springett Lecture . 18 families displaced by the collapse have been re- John Hunt housed pending a legal resolution. Books of interest . 21 It is just one more demonstration of why the Society is concentrating a great deal of its Invasive Crayfish on the Heath . 22 resources to address the problem of multiple applications for basement development locally. John Hunt In the following article Chairman Tony Hillier Bulletin Board: looks in detail at the scale of the problems and News of members; Burgh House; Hampstead & progress so far. Highgate Festival; Hampstead Film Society; Heath Walks . 24 1 The Basement Campaign: has it been worth it? by Tony Hillier Increasing reports of damage to properties from we are still climbing than simply a hurdle we various basement excavations have clearly shown have already jumped. During the campaign we that action was required. We have made gratifying have encountered a number of problems with progress so far. and we are not through yet. the working assumptions held by many of the professionals who rightly regard themselves as Obstacles we all faced in 2006 experts in the general area of property The position is best explained by checking how development (as for example architects, many of the obstacles we all faced in 2006, as a surveyors, planners, builders, planning recent starting point, have been removed or got inspectors, planning lawyers). round. During this period the economics of house prices, building costs, the costs of buying First, many have been reluctant to shift from their and selling and moving have made the traditional stance that the issue of damage basement option appear attractive to prevention is not one for the planners at all, but householders trying to increase living space. should be left to the jurisdiction of Building Regulations. This is wrong, because Building New Planning Policies Regulations only address the actual building and There was very little protection for neighbours not its impact on neighbours. It is also unhelpful, written into the Camden Unitary Development because the powers once held by the tough and Plan. The new Local Development Framework independent District Surveyor were removed in (LDF) on the other hand contains some tightly the eighties and can now be contracted out written policies, which we helped draft and privately by the applicant to his own adviser. which since November 2010 give neighbours an excellent chance of making sure that the right Secondly, there is a widespread assumption that questions are asked and answered by developers, building basements will always cause damage and that the issue of neighbour damage must be and the neighbours can and should protect assessed before giving planning approval. themselves through private Party Wall dispute settlement after it has occurred. It is true that The earlier national policies, written in the the Party Wall Act must always be used to settle 1990s, are not as tightly drafted, and although these types of dispute. However, since November we used them successfully in some cases 2010 Camden has the powers under their new before November 2010, it has been open to LDF policies to require developers to show at the lawyers, planners and planning inspectors to planning decision stage how the level of decide (wrongly in our view) that they do not predicted structural damage can be minimised, apply to local geological conditions. These will and, if this is still unacceptable, to deny approval. now play only a secondary role locally. Thirdly, and this is the root cause of the Applying and Interpreting Planning Policies problem, the knowhow to make these Policy wording is not of course enough; judgements is rather obscure and very technical. Camden’s new policies need to be applied and It is therefore an important part of our strategy interpreted properly on each site for each to try to improve on the current situation, which application. Here again good progress is being is a lottery for applicants and objectors alike. made, but it remains more of a mini mountain All too often, totally inadequate geotechnical or 2 hydrological reports are put forward from At the time of writing we are working with organisations, which appear to be qualified, Camden to help ensure that this highly technical supporting potentially dangerous applications. and detailed paper is effectively summarised in Our immediate task is to persuade Camden that the Planning Guidance Notes which Camden is such matters should be in the hands of only due to introduce shortly. Camden is not able to those with adequate technical knowledge. It have on its staff the necessary specialists, but requires a combination of Chartered Geologists, must rely on the information presented by the Chartered Civil and Chartered Structural developer and, where appropriate, presented in Engineers with appropriate postgraduate opposition by the neighbours or local amenity qualifications (for example in the case of the societies. We are therefore concerned that geologists covering ground and/or groundwater Camden insists that only those with the proper conditions). The challenge for Camden is professional qualifications are entitled to therefore how to import this specialist knowhow undertake or critique this type of work. into the practical arena of the local authority What is also excellent is that Camden has made planning decision-making process in ways that provision for the developer to be required to are fair and not excessively burdensome on meet the costs of a third party review, if two either objectors or Camden itself. opposing technical reports are presented to it. Basement Impact Assessment Camden has also agreed to offer training We continue to work closely with the local programmes to relevant officers and Councillors planning authority to progress this crucial step as to help them deal with these technical reports. well. Camden also published in November 2010 an important guidance, written by Arup with The Importance of this Approach input from ourselves, for subterranean We believe that this whole approach is fair and development based on a detailed survey of local has benefits for all parties involved. For our geological, hydro-geological and hydrological members who wish to develop basements, it conditions. This proposes a four step Basement enables them to minimise their exposure to Impact Assessment (BIA). It comprises liabilities under the Party Wall Act, to minimise “Screening” to check whether there are ground delays and controversy by complying with stability or ground water issues which warrant Camden’s policies and to establish a framework detailed study; “Scoping” to design an appropriate within which they can act as good neighbours. BIA; “Site Investigation and Study” to establish For our members who face a next door technically the baseline conditions; and “Impact application, it gives them a reasonable chance of Assessment” to determine what impact the having a professional analysis of the risks they basement will have on the baseline conditions face done at the developer’s expense, which they and any mitigating measures. Camden then audits can still challenge at their own expense; this also this and decides whether the predicted impact is provides a strong factual basis on which an appeal acceptable. This is an excellent and, we believe, or a judicial review can be judged. For Camden, it unique approach deserving national recognition. sets out a framework, which reduces the need for in-house expertise and at the same time ensures 3 The Basement Campaign (cont) Society Events - dates for your diary that they can reduce to the minimum the time otherwise wasted on arguments between the River Walks parties and themselves on highly technical The River Fleet from source to Thames matters, which are nevertheless essential to a two-part walk lead by making a proper determination. Robin Michaelson Article 4 Direction qualified and experienced Local authorities have the power to introduce City of London guide. special regulations limiting the rights given to May 14 10.30 am -12.30pm householders to develop certain parts of their Start: the War Memorial by Whitestone dwellings without seeking planning permission.

Load more

  27

Copy Link