Basement
conversions
in Hammersmith, W6
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Each Hammersmith basement application needs an engineer's Construction Method Statement and a plan for construction traffic. Many houses here already have a semi-basement, which the policy counts as basement development.
Hammersmith brings three distinct kinds of house to a basement brief. Hammersmith Terrace and Black Lion Lane carry fine Georgian riverside houses restored with conservation-led care; Brook Green offers handsome Victorian villas and family terraces; and Glenthorne Road and the streets around it add Edwardian mansion flats and conversions. The Georgian and Victorian houses give the most scope for a lower-ground level, while the flats bring shared structure and leases that complicate any dig. Near the Thames, the reading of ground conditions comes first.
Consent runs through the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, whose conservation areas protect Brook Green and the historic riverside terraces; the council scrutinises external change and applies Article 4 controls. Because Hammersmith W6 ties much of its stock to the busy King Street spine, a brief has to respect both the period fabric and central-W6 logistics — getting materials in and spoil out on well-trafficked streets is planned early, and the historic frontages set firm limits on what can appear at pavement level.
On rates, converting existing space and a new dig with underpinning are priced differently, and both are quoted after a survey, before fit-out.
Hammersmith basements: semi-basements, method statements and the river
Much of Hammersmith's period housing already sits over a lower floor. The Hammersmith Town Hall profile describes 6 to 32 Angel Walk, listed Grade II, as mid-19th-century linked semi-detached houses of two storeys with semi-basements, and the Fulham Reach profile says the mid-Victorian terraces there are two storeys over a semi-basement reached by a short flight of steps.
Policy DC11 counts any floor partly or entirely below ground as a basement, so enlarging a semi-basement is basement development too. Opening up the front is controlled as well: the Town Hall profile says creating a lightwell by excavating all or part of a front garden needs planning permission, as does enlarging an existing lightwell.
In this borough every basement application goes in with a Construction Method Statement, which a qualified structural or civil engineer must prepare, and with a construction traffic management plan showing the works will not cause unacceptable harm to the safety of people walking, cycling or driving, which matters on streets off King Street and beside the Great West Road.
Near the river the policy's flood test carries weight: DC11 asks that a basement be designed to minimise the risk of flooding to the property and its neighbours from all sources. The borough's guidance also resists digging basements beneath existing or proposed outbuildings, to keep the garden building subordinate to the house.
Outside Hammersmith: Belsize Park Gardens, NW3, a full-house refurbishment in Belsize Park that included basement works.
We commission the structural engineer's method statement early and draw the construction traffic route with it, so the planning application and the party wall notices describe the same sequence of works.
Sources: Hammersmith & Fulham: Hammersmith Town Hall Conservation Area character profile (November 2018); Hammersmith & Fulham: Fulham Reach Conservation Area character profile, pages 5–8; Hammersmith & Fulham: Local Plan (February 2018); Hammersmith & Fulham: Planning Guidance Supplementary Planning Document (February 2018).
Basement Conversions in Hammersmith: Questions
What kind of Hammersmith properties suit a basement conversion?
The area offers three quite different types. Hammersmith Terrace and Black Lion Lane carry fine Georgian riverside houses; Brook Green brings handsome Victorian villas and family terraces; and Glenthorne Road and the surrounding streets add Edwardian mansion flats and conversions. The Georgian and Victorian houses give the clearest scope for a lower-ground level, while the mansion flats bring shared structure and leases that make a dig more complex.
How does Hammersmith & Fulham control basements in W6?
Through Policy DC11 and a planning application for every scheme. The policy limits a basement to half the depth of the garden and of the house, and the application must include a Construction Method Statement from a qualified structural or civil engineer that contains a construction traffic management plan.
Do the riverside houses raise particular issues for basements?
They do. The fine Georgian houses on Hammersmith Terrace and Black Lion Lane sit close to the Thames and are restored with careful, conservation-led detail, so any excavation there has to weigh ground conditions near the river alongside the heritage of the fabric above. Proximity to water makes the reading of the ground the first task, and the historic frontages set strict limits on what can appear at street level.
What does a basement conversion cost in Hammersmith?
The structural route decides it. Converting existing below-ground space is the lighter route, and a new excavation with underpinning is the larger commitment, before fit-out. Central-W6 logistics around King Street and the busy main roads can add to the access cost on tighter sites.
How do central Hammersmith logistics affect the works?
They matter more here than in the quieter suburbs. Hammersmith W6 mixes Victorian terraces, Edwardian facades and mansion flats with streets tied to King Street, so a refurbishment or basement brief has to respect both the period fabric and busy central-W6 logistics. Getting materials in and spoil out on constrained, well-trafficked streets is planned early, and it is a real part of the programme rather than a footnote.
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