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TIP OF THE ICEBERG BASEMENTS IN LONDON ARE AS POPULAR AS EVER
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MOST BASEMENTS IN HOMES WILL BE SWIMMING POOLS, CINEMAS AND LIVING ROOMS; ONE EVEN HAS AN ARTIFICIAL BEACH!
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NETWORKS
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igures are difficult to come by, but it appears that if you’re in the business of building basements in London, business is good. Knight Build is a developer based in the outskirts of London that specialises in ‘iceberg basements’ and their pre-tax profits for 2019 were double that of 2018. Not bad for what could be termed a difficult market in light of the political quagmire of the past few years. Research from the Labour party has shown that planning applications of 12 London Boroughs more than doubled between 2010 and 2015, and a recent paper from Newcastle University examined the extent of residential basement developments in seven of the most affluent London Boroughs between 2008 and 2017. They found that 4,650 had been granted planning permission, of which the vast majority, 3,755, were ‘standard’ basements of one storey, 783 were ‘large’, consisting of two stories or one storey extending well under the garden. The basements that get the most press, the ‘iceberg basements’, only made up 112 of those granted planning permission. Iceberg basements aren’t an official designation; however, they are generally considered to be at least three-stories, or two if they extend under the garden. For many, adding basements isn’t about improving property values, it’s about adding a different kind of value. In a city where real estate is so costly and options for moving limited, basements are often seen as the solution to add space but remain in your geographical area. London has strict above-ground space limitations and many buildings are listed or in conservation areas, making adding stories above ground or extensions difficult to impossible. There has been some bad press about basements in the capital in recent years, in 2016, Westminster Council introduced a £8,000 fee on new basement planning applications. This is a great way of generating cashflow from the 100+ basements built in the Borough each year, but the inconveniences to neighbours of pollution, noise and general disruption that justify this fee, are real. Flooding, subsidence and issues with the water table are genuine risks and legal battles by neighbours are not uncommon. Other councils also introduced policies to restrict the size of basements lead by concerns about the water table and disruption and damage, especially in areas with many developments. Despite this, the study from Newcastle found that although there were less applications being made in recent years, the amount being approved were still at 2008 – 2012 levels. Those being approved are mainly standard or large basements, rather than the iceberg, so it appears that the restrictions have had some of the desired effect. Basements in new developments are showing an uptick in popularity while basements in pre-existing dwellings have remained static, as land is developed and either new residential or multi-residence buildings are built. “Most of the basements that we do are additions to preexisting buildings, but certainly including basements in plans for new builds are gaining in popularity.” Says Paul Lavelle, MD
