Planning and Borough Development
Kensington Town Hall
Hornton Street
London W8 7NX
31st October 2014
Subject: Application PP/14/07073 – 22 Marloes Road – Excavation of basement
Dear Sir/Madam,
I strongly object to the planning application referred to above. I agree with the objections raised by
the residents of 20 Marloes Road. I hope that you will side with your local residents and not with a
non-resident developer looking to maximize profit on his investment at our expense.
Should the matter be referred to committee, I request notice of the date in order to ensure that I am
able to attend.
Regards,
Eliot Camplisson
24 Marloes Road
W8 5LH
October 23, 2014
Planning and Borough Development
Kensington Town Hall
Hornton Street
London W8 7NX
Subject: Application PP/14/07073 – 22 Marloes Road – Excavation of basement
Dear Sir/Madam,
As a resident of the adjoining house at No 20 Marloes Road, I strongly object to the above
application. This is another attempt by the proposers to gain planning after the initial application
was withdrawn following the groundswell of objection from local residents and after their
subsequent pre-application was judged unacceptable by the planning officer. These applications
were withdrawn in order to avoid being rejected by the council, which would have been detrimental
to the proposers’ chances of ever getting approval on a revised scheme. This latest application
should also be rejected for the following reasons:
Dubious ultimate intentions: Additional underground bedsits
They now propose to extend the 2 lower ground flats in the basement as opposed to creating new
basement bedsits, which was perhaps the most unsavoury aspect of their initial proposal. But given
the condition and location of the house, building large lower ground and basement flats there makes
no sense financially (they will need to charge very high rents to justify the investment, but who
would pay such sums to live underground?). As such, the proposers’ intentions are questionable.
Given their initial application and how they went about things, I suspect that as soon as they get
planning for these extensions, they will request a change of use to convert the basement into
individual bedsits. Once the basement is built, it'll be much easier for them to get that approved.
With no windows and natural light these bedsits would provide inhumane living conditions which
are clearly below minimum acceptable standards. The council should not be duped into allowing
this to happen as it was led to allow the felling of the robinia tree under false pretences.
Traffic
Marloes Road is the only access point for excavation and building work. The road is already very
busy, with cars, lorries and buses often unable to pass each other, leading to congestion (see picture
below).
With a skip permanently occupying a parking bay or two, and lorries regularly needed to offload it,
the traffic situation would be unbearable. As can be seen from the drawing in their traffic
management plan, the skip is considerably wider than a car and would take up the whole width of
the parking bay, which means cars going in opposite directions will need to stop to let the other
pass, leading to even more traffic than is currently the case. The road is simply too narrow and too
key a link in the Borough to risk hindering circulation further for the next 2 years.
Trees
The proposers intend to fell the robinia tree in the garden. Notwithstanding the moral consideration
of allowing a healthy mature tree to be felled purely for a developer’s profit at the expense of the
privacy and aesthetic aspect the tree affords all of the local residents, felling of the tree (whose
consent to fell it was obtained under false pretence – the tree is not in decay) and excavation are
likely to have negative implications for residents of Marloes Road and Lexham Gardens, whether it
be drainage and flooding or subsidence.
There is a birch tree in our garden, which is in close proximity to the wall separating No 20 and No
22. The tree is large enough to assume its roots cross under the wall and into the garden at No 22.
Excavation of the garden will most likely lead to cuts into its roots, which may well lead to its death.
Excavation will also cut into the roots of the plane tree in front of the house. As per the tree report
submitted, the root protection area of the tree clearly goes under the existing building.
Section 9.1.1 of the SPD Subterranean Development confirms the Council’s concern to protect
mature trees and grassed and planted areas. This confirms policy CR6 which states that the Council
will resist applications which results in damage or loss of trees. Excavation would lead to irreparable
damage to the street and garden scene, a particular disgrace in a Conservation Area.
Over-utilization of the premises
The house is already utilized beyond its capacity in order to maximise returns to the landlord. The
house is not properly maintained and with so many residents, rubbish keeps piling up beyond the
capacity of the 3 giant bins (see pictures below). Passers-by often throw away their banana peels
and other rubbish on top of the pile which adds to the degradation of the neighbourhood. Allowing
additional residents to live in this already overcrowded house would only make matters worse.
Damage to adjoining properties
Based on personal experience and widely commented cases, it is clear such excavation would put
our house at considerable structural risk, no matter what the proposers’ paid experts claim. While
damage may be patched-up under party wall agreements, very often the underlying problem
remains hidden and re-appears later on. Given this application is made by unidentified individuals
hidden behind a BVI-based company, the Council would be accepting liability for damages to
neighbouring properties should it approve this development, given it may prove impossible to claim
damages against an offshore entity.
Other reasons to reject
Excavation of the front lightwell would result in a serious risk hazard and would not be in keeping
aesthetically with the surrounding area. In addition, the plan does not address how this would affect
rubbish storage and removal. As noted earlier, rubbish overflow is already an issue at this house.
This basement would require ventilation which would add to the noise pollution in the area. No
acoustic report has been provided. The lightwells and skylights would lead to light pollution and
negatively alter the appearance of the gardens for residents of all surrounding properties.
Additionally, the plans do not include secondary means of escape in the event of fire.
Excavating under 85% of the garden is excessive. It increases the risks of drainage, flooding and
subsidence, not to mention the disturbance to neighbours. Not only does it go against the current
policy considerations of the council, but it reveals the developers’ sole profit-maximising objective
and their dubious intentions as explained earlier.
The final point is the considerable disruption (noise, dust, vibrations, etc.) which residents of
Marloes Road would suffer for potentially 2 years should this development go ahead. My wife and I
are expecting our first child, and my wife will be working from home for the next year. I don’t see
why they should suffer for the benefit of offshore investors. The Council should bear this in mind.
If this application is approved, it will create a precedent for every non-resident owner to follow suit
at the expense of long-term residents of the Borough. The Council would gain a terrible reputation
should this be allowed and the media were to hear about its support for an application by a nonresident offshore company for the development of windowless underground bedsits at the expense
of local residents. RBKC is already one of the most densely populated areas in Europe. This would
significantly alter the attractiveness of the Borough as a place to live.
I sincerely hope the Council will not fail in its duty to protect the nature of the Conservation Area
and its local residents, and will reject this planning application.
Should the matter be referred to committee, I request notice of the date in order to ensure that I am
able to attend.
Regards,
Bruno Lafleur
20 Marloes Road