Basement
conversions
in Fulham, SW6
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Every new Fulham basement needs planning permission under the borough's Article 4 direction, and many houses here already have a semi-basement. We start from the floor that is there, the front garden and the half-depth limit in Policy DC11.
Fulham removed the guesswork from one part of a basement project: consent is always required. A borough-wide Article 4(1) direction has withdrawn permitted development rights for basement development across Hammersmith & Fulham — made on 25 April 2017 and in force from 26 April 2018, excluding the OPDC area — so every SW6 basement proceeds by a planning application. That application is judged within the borough's conservation-area framework, with the council scrutinising external change and applying Article 4 controls to protect the best Victorian streets and the riverside around Hurlingham.
There is a second procedural step to plan for. Demolition in Hammersmith & Fulham may need a Section 80 notice under the Building Act 1984, giving six weeks' notice before work starts, though internal demolition in an occupied building and buildings of 50m² or less are exempt. Fulham is classic Victorian family London — bay-fronted terraces and Edwardian cottages on Hurlingham Road, Peterborough Road and Munster Road — where the larger houses take a lower-ground level well, while party-wall coordination, facade repair and access shape the cost.
On rates, converting existing space and a new dig with underpinning are priced differently, and both are quoted after a survey, before fit-out.
Fulham basements: semi-basements, front gardens and the half-depth rule
Many Fulham houses already have a lower floor. Moore Park's character profile describes the western side of Waterford Road as two storey terraces with semi-basements, and the gault brick terrace at 1 to 12 Avalon Road as unspoilt and semi-basemented too; it also records a few newly excavated basements beside reinstated front area railings. Bringing an existing semi-basement into use is a different project from digging a new storey.
The front garden is where the council looks hardest. The same profile says excavating a front garden to give a basement windows, or more light, will not normally be permitted where the planting of the front gardens is part of the design of the street or terrace. We survey the front area, its railings and its planting before a lightwell goes on a drawing.
Under Local Plan Policy DC11 a new basement may not reach under the garden further than half the depth of the host building, measured from the principal rear elevation, nor further than half the depth of the garden. The council applies that limit to the front, rear and side gardens one by one rather than to the plot added together.
There is no permitted development route: since April 2018 an Article 4 direction covering the whole borough has made every Fulham basement a planning application. The council's guidance puts over 60% of the borough in Flood Zones 2 and 3, where key principle FR1 asks for a site-specific flood risk assessment, so the river is part of the brief from the first sketch.
Neighbours are involved early as well. Section 6 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 reaches excavation within three metres of an adjoining owner's building that goes deeper than its foundations, and within six metres where the dig would cross a line falling at 45 degrees from them, which on a terrace usually means both party walls.
Outside Fulham: Fitzjohns Avenue, NW3, a new basement and rear extension to a house on Fitzjohns Avenue, NW3.
We measure the existing floor levels and the front area, photograph the neighbouring houses and share one set of drawings with the structural engineer and the party wall surveyors, so the excavation, the underpinning and the lightwell are designed together.
Sources: Hammersmith & Fulham: Moore Park Conservation Area character profile; Hammersmith & Fulham: Local Plan (February 2018); LBHF - Article 4 Directions (planning policy page); LBHF Planning Guidance Supplementary Planning Document (adopted February 2018); legislation.gov.uk - Party Wall etc. Act 1996, section 6.
Basement Conversions in Fulham: Questions
Do I need planning permission for a basement in Fulham?
Yes — it is not a permitted-development matter here. A borough-wide Article 4(1) direction removes permitted development rights for basement development across Hammersmith & Fulham; it was made on 25 April 2017 and came into force on 26 April 2018 (excluding the OPDC area). So a basement scheme in Fulham requires a planning application as a matter of course, and the design is prepared for that from the start.
How does Hammersmith & Fulham assess a Fulham basement?
Within its conservation-area framework. Fulham sits in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, with conservation areas protecting its best Victorian streets and the riverside around Hurlingham, and the council scrutinises external change in those areas while applying Article 4 controls. A basement is judged on its impact on those protected streets, with the lightwells and front-area works the most visible points of assessment.
Is a demolition notice needed before basement works in Fulham?
It can be. Demolition work in Hammersmith & Fulham may require a Section 80 demolition notice under the Building Act 1984, giving the council six weeks' notice before work starts — though internal demolition within an occupied building and buildings of 50m² or less are exempt, and the council can issue a Section 81 counter-notice. Where a basement involves qualifying demolition, that notice period is built into the programme.
What does a basement conversion cost in Fulham?
The method sets the cost. Converting existing below-ground space is the lighter route; a new excavation with underpinning is the larger undertaking, before the fit-out. On Fulham's terraces, party-wall coordination, facade repair and access on residential SW6 streets all feed into what a scheme costs.
Which Fulham houses suit a basement?
Fulham is classic Victorian family London — long runs of bay-fronted terraces and Edwardian cottages. Hurlingham Road and Peterborough Road carry handsome bay-fronted terraces and mansion flats; Munster Road and the streets off the Fulham Road bring rows of family houses; and the riverside towards Hurlingham adds larger villas. The generous family terraces take a lower-ground level well, while converted flats bring shared structure and leases into the equation.
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