BANCHORY ROAD SE3 MEWS HOUSES

DESIGN AND ACCESS STATEMENT

TWO, NEW BUILD, MEWS HOUSES, 51A BANCHORY ROAD, LONDON SE3 7NJ

CONTEXT

The applicant wishes to realise the full potential of his garage that is situated on a back road site, set behind Banchory Road (within Rectory Fields Conservation Area, shown below)- by building two Mews houses; each with three bedrooms and gross internal area of 92m2+6m2 terrace. It was suggested that the Royal Borough of Greenwich is presently keen to have more 3-bedroom houses available for new local residents. The site is accessed down an alley with tall terraced houses either side. These terraced houses are higher than the height of what has been proposed.

Behind the site to the North the proposal will look onto back gardens and onto the workshop of the adjacent and printers Trojan Press industrial unit, on Lizban Street. This unit is connected back to back at the rear of the proposal. The printer’s window that currently faces the proposal on the first floor is used for a storage room and will be made obscure if required. This storeroom is unused and not a habitable room. To the East, the proposal will face back gardens and the rear of houses along Sunfields Place, whose views are blocked by a large tree. To the South the proposal will look onto the car park and rear gardens of Brunswick Terrace, along Banchory Road. To the West the blank, flank wall faces the rear of the two terraced houses at 51 and 53 Banchory Road. The proposal is for these two mews houses to be designed externally to look in keeping with the new houses adjacent to The British Oak pub nearby (built circa 2010) on Old Dover Road and gently echo the traditional Georgian style of mews’ and other houses The Standard and Blackheath village (see below).

ACCESS

The alley that leads to the site is limited in width and will only allow one car to enter or leave at a time. The proposal envisages that the forecourt area in front of the houses will not be needed for parking (since new builds are not required to have parking) and will be a shared mews style amenity space, which will also provide two basement terraces below on either side for separate amenity.

On the ground floor, the front doors are side by side and lead into an open plan living space; from which one either goes downstairs into the kitchen and living space, with basement terrace for light and amenity; or upstairs with bedrooms. The stairs into the basement lead down to a storage cupboard and the kichen and dining area, off of which is storage and a w.c., which is located at the front of the basement. The open lightwell and terrace is 6m2. The under stairs storage area off the kitchen, is for utility and larder purposes. From the ground floor, stairs lead upwards via winding treads to two, single bedrooms and one shared bathroom. Off the first floor landing, stairs again lead up with winding treads- to a double loft bedroom, with an ensuite shower room and two dormer windows. All windows look onto back gardens or Brunswick Terrace car park.

DESIGN

As mentioned previously, the intention was to create two mews houses that are in-keeping with the period of many other mews houses around Blackheath and Greenwich and this might loosely be described as Georgian due to the use of a mansard roof, parapet walls and dormers. The more modern elements of the sliding glass doors and glass panel front door will allow more light into the spaces. One set of sliding glass doors is on the ground floor and has a Juliette Balcony for when the doors are open giving air and light to the ground floor living room. The basement sliding doors are the same and allow light and flower scent to permeate the kitchen, and offer outdoor basement amenity space for repose and planting. The use of dormers will allow the loft bedrooms to have adequate space and are slightly smaller in proportion to the large sash window below on the first floor. As mentioned at the start, the windows all face onto back gardens, a car park for Brunswick Terrace, the rear of houses a fair distance away of more than 12m and/or a large tree at Sunfields Place. Therefore there will be no over-looking. The proposed heights of these mews houses are lower than those along Banchory Road and approximately the same or a very small amount higher than along Sunfields Place behind, whose heights were not surveyed. With this in mind we anticipate that there will not be any over bearing either onto the neighbours.

MATERIALS

The brickwork is to be of London Stock with red quoin edges and a central decorative feature. Down this central brick feature will run two metal black rain water pipes running from a decorative cast iron or metal black hopper. The copings shall be of reconstituted stone and the thresholds at the front door shall be of Yorkstone paving stones. The mews amenity space shall be paved in brick cobble stable sets and the walls planted with ivy and wisteria. The roof shall be clad in slates for both pitches of the mansard and the dormers shall be clad in lead. All windows and sliding doors and front door shall be metal profiles, with the front door itself of hardwood with a glass panel.

CONCLUSION

This is a modest pair of houses whose design and materials generally aim at creating a smart development for 2 professional families. The mews area and basement terraces will offer repose in this limited site and as they face South will fill the house with light. Through the composition of the frontage being relatively traditional the proposal is polite and not overtly making any statement- in the hope that the development will become part of the neighbourhood. The neighbourhood has over the last five to ten years changed and the garage with its industrial works less in keeping with the street and locale, than it was 30 years ago, when more light industry could be seen locally. In conclusion for this reason we feel that the proposal in its modest and genteel character is a welcome addition (now in 2020) to Banchory Road and the Sunfields/Rectory Fields vicinity. It will be a delight to stumble across- set back behind the street away from the motorway – and will add new sustainable life to a relatively redundant space.

Corner of Vanbrugh Park

42 Vanbrugh Park

Old Dover Road

Blackheath Village

Blackheath Village

Map Of Rectory Fields Conservation Area