Basements and PPG14 - Heath & Hampstead Soc meeting with senior planners is very welcome

There is intense local worry about the long term consequences of recent deep basement developments, and one of the biggest challenges we've faced on the Council is getting the complex national and local planning regime to react quickly enough to these new style basements.

The new Local Development Framework which I led through the Council significantly strengthens our policies against inappropriate basements. In addition, the Conservative council group supports the efforts of the Heath & Hampstead Society to get Camden to give better protection to neighbours at the planning approval stage against serious damage from deep basements proposed close to their properties.

We understand that the planning system requires a local authority to do this under well established national planning guidance known as PPG 14. So far however, under existing procedures, Camden’s Development Control procedures has not been requiring developers to prove through proper on site geotechnical evidence that a proposed basement will not destabilise neighbours' land and structurally damage his or her house, before planning permission can be given.

In future, we will make sure that planners receive the necessary geological and structural engineering advice to apply this guidance as it should be applied across the Borough, where there is widespread risk that deep excavation will destabilise the ground and cause structural damage, especially in Hampstead and Highgate. This should also include a better understanding of flooding risks.

Another national planning statement PPS 25 requires Camden to have developers show that a proposed basement will not cause neighbourhood flooding, before they are given the go ahead. In the north of the Borough this can only be done through ground water flow modelling, which also calls for specialist advice.

There is some legal debate (as always in planning!) around the exact position on this, which is why we welcome the meeting council officers are having shortly with the Heath & Hampstead Society and an outside senior expert legal to get this moving forward.