Friday 26 May 2023

Doubts over 'airspace' (addition of extra storeys to existing council housing) developments

 'Airspace' developments have been mentioned in to context of Brent Council's proposals for infill on its council estates. Airspace is when additional storeys are added to current housing and recently some specialist companies have been set up to develop such schemes.

Now Inside Housing (FULL REPORT) following an FoE request has revealed that Southwark Council has dropped plans following a report from an engineering consultancy:

Southwark Council, which had been pursuing the plans since 2019, received a report from engineering consultancy Arup in October 2020 that said the majority of buildings under consideration would not meet modern requirements to prevent collapse.  

The borough continued to investigate the potential for modular housing to be added to 26 buildings in the borough for more than two years after receiving the report, commissioning further expert opinions.  

It finally dropped the plans in July last year, having spent £3.75m working on the plan, it revealed in a Freedom of Information (FOI) response to Inside Housing.

On May 10th Brent Council Planning Committee approved an application to add an extra storey to Fairfield Court in Harlesden.  LINK


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