Locals reject plans for house with 19th century ties to be demolished

By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter

A Victorian-style house linking back to the 19th century is set to be knocked down to build a modern home twice the size, with locals worried the new house will “dominate” the area.

The house, in Morden Road, Blackheath, was originally built in 1852 before being bombed and rebuilt in the 1950s.

Plans for the new home will be twice the size of the current building and will include a gym, library, and four bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms.

Rosemary Clements, speaking on behalf of the Blackheath Society Tuesday, said at a planning meeting for Greenwich council: “We don’t agree that the existing house should be demolished. We think that it makes a positive contribution to the conservation area.

“As we all know, planning policy says that for the demolition of houses that make a positive contribution to conservation areas, the idea of demolishing them should be resisted.”

Ms Clements said that building a new house twice the size of the current one will look “very dominating”.

While the house does lie in the Blackheath conservation area, Geoff Haskins, speaking on behalf of the applicant, said the current house had “modest architectural value”.

Mr Haskins said that while the style of the 1950s house was “not out of character for the area”, it also didn’t “lend any positivity” to it.

Ms Clements also said that nobody had considered refurbishing and extending the current house instead of knocking it down, which would be more environmentally friendly.

She said: “We think, because the Royal Borough of Greenwich is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2030, they should really resist demolishing perfectly good buildings and try to promote their reuse rather than demolishing them.”

Councillor Jo Van den Broek later agreed that the council should consider refurbishing buildings in future plans instead of demolishing them.

The applicant previously applied to build another house on the same site last year, which was dismissed as the planning officer said it would “dominate” the plot and “erode its spacious qualities”.

The house was originally planned to be three storeys tall, which Ms Clements described as “grossly oversized” for the area.

Initial plans for the house were much wider and included a balcony, but were cut back after nine letters of objection were received during a public consultation.

The new plans include a two-storey house with a basement, instead of the original three storeys planned.

Greenwich council approved the plans for the new house at the planning meeting on the condition that the applicant considers using a brick colour that matches the surrounding houses and that replacement trees will be planted for those removed during construction.

Pictured top: Design of the rear garden for the proposed new house on Morden Road, Blackheath (Picture: Haskins Designs)