Council uses eco tactics to outwit basement builders

A London council has declared war on basement developments by insisting homeowners carry out a costly eco-upgrade of their entire property before they are allowed to dig for space beneath it.

The first salvo of the battle has been fired by Kensington and Chelsea council, which has fielded more than 1,000 applications for underground extensions in the past five years — including ones from Chelsea footballer Frank Lampard and his girlfriend Christine Bleakley, and Take That’s Howard Donald.

It has now refused the owner of a home in Elgin Crescent, Notting Hill, permission to create a basement complex because he “failed to detail how he would improve the terrace property’s overall carbon efficiency”.

The architect of the scheme condemned the council for “entirely inappropriate use of guidance” which will cost the homeowner thousands of pounds, making it financially unviable. Jonathan Bore, the council’s executive director for planning, threw out the proposals and said: “The applicant has failed to demonstrate appropriate mitigation for the environmental impact of the proposed subterranean development, in particular the impact of the development on carbon emissions.”

Kensington and Chelsea has introduced a policy directed specifically at basement extensions, amid growing pressure after complaints of noise nuisance and the prospect of damage to neighbouring properties.

It will insist anybody who wishes to build a basement must prove their home meets tough eco-standards before it gets planning consent. The architect for the Notting Hill scheme, Stuart Brown, said: “I can understand the need for new guidelines to regulate the current rash of massive full site basements.

“But to insist that the environmental performance of an entire house is upgraded in order to develop an

extension of some five square metres is clearly an entirely inappropriate use of guidance.”

He added: “The costs of complying are prohibitive and out of all proportion.”