Architect: T&V Architects

Planning Consultants:  Maddox Planning

Description:  Internal and external alterations and extension to a grade II listed building and associated mews house to the rear, within the Belgravia Conservation Area.

HCUK Group involvement: Ongoing support through the planning process, preparation of a pre-application Heritage Statement, review and input into design development and preparation of a full Heritage Impact Assessment to support the final planning and listed building consent applications. Support has continued post consent in relation to condition discharge and minor amendments.  

 

​Summary

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This property in Chester Square is an early 19th century grade II listed building within the Belgravia Conservation Area, located to the south of Hyde Park. HCUK Group has worked on a number of properties in the Square over the years. The proposals were considered and sympathetic to the building, balancing energy efficiency, modern-day family living and the sensitivities around the building's grade II designation and its location within a conservation area.  This exciting project included the provision of a new basement with pool, enclosure of the rear light well to allow for the discrete provision of additional living space, and the creation of a replacement link to the rear mews property (replacing an old 1980s unsightly arrangement). The character of both the principal Chester Square elevation and the rear mews facade were carefully repaired and improved to better reveal the significance of the buildings. ​

 

This project is a great example of what can be achieved when both client team and local authority engage pro-actively throughout the planning process. The result is an exceptional development that preserves the integrity of the listed building, and the reasons for its designation, whilst facilitating its continued and successful use as a single family dwelling. Conservation is about managing change not preventing it and this particular project highlights the benefits of an open minded and proportionate approach. ​