Going deeper underground: St John's Wood road where basement extensions are hidden under 24 homes

It is known as the “Iceberg Road” because so much of it lurks below the surface.

Hamilton Terrace in St John’s Wood has been named as London’s most “dug-out” street with 24 applications for full-scale basement excavations since 2000. Three are being worked on now.

In that time at least seven swimming pools, not to mention gyms, hot tubs, saunas, spa baths, massage rooms, underground cinemas and car parks, staff accommodation, play rooms, wine rooms and offices have been carved out of the London clay that the homes sit on.

Almost one in six properties in the street has had a basement dug out for extra space, despite the fact that most of its houses are already spacious detached and semi-detached Victorian villas.

Homes currently for sale in Hamilton Terrace include a seven bedroom, 10-bathroom new build house on the market for £37.5 million — making it one of the most expensive for sale in London.

The property, naturally, has an extensive basement extension which includes, according to estate agents Savills, “an exquisite leisure complex with a gym, pool, steam room and luxurious massage/treatment room. There is also a cinema room with its own bar and games room.”

But the trend has caused concern among some neighbours who say they are fed up with the sound of drilling beneath their feet. Last year North Westminster MP Karen Buck led a parliamentary debate about the issue, describing some of the extensions she had been shown in the terrace as “extraordinary” and the size of an “aircraft carrier”.

Talking about the complaints, one builder working in Hamilton Terrace, who didn’t wish to be named, said: “I think it’s a case of people who have had their basement construction done complaining when other people decide to get theirs done later.”

Clara Pucci, who lives with her family in the street, said the work had caused her no disturbance. She said: “Everybody in the area benefits from the work, as long as it is carefully and tastefully done.”