Design and Access Statement 

Flat 2, 18 East Heath Road, Hampstead, London, NW3 1AJ
Located in the Hampstead Conservation Area, covered by an Article 4 Directive. 

Context of the proposed development:

	▪	1970s additions to lower ground floor of 18 EHR
18 East Heath Road is located on a row of Victorian mansion houses directly opposite Hampstead Heath. Unlike its neighbours, number 18 has been extended in the 1970 to include two ’studios’ on the lower ground floor, in a design contemporaneous with the construction era, rather than the original decorative style of the Victorian mansion. It appears that the house was in the ownership of a single owner, providing accommodation for nurses at the Royal Free Hospital, meaning that as many units of housing needed to be contained at the building, without significant consideration for architectural appeal. 

The Studios, as well as Flat 2 on the lower ground floor have subsequently changed hands a number of times, providing mostly rented, rather than owner/occupier accommodation, and resulting in the front of the property falling into some state of disrepair and low decorative appeal. The two Studios sit under two separate flat roofs, one of which, over Studio B is concreted over and faces East Heath Road. Neither of the two Studios on the lower ground floor are in keeping with the traditional Victorian style of the property and the concrete roof over Studio B currently houses the rather unflattering rubbish storage for the residents of 18 East Heath Road in open view of the road.  

	▪	Fire Safety
Given the age of the property (constructed circa 1880s and extended in 1970/80s with the addition of two Studios on the lower ground floor), fire regulations, in their current form are not met, and fire escape for Flat 2 is unsafe. There are currently three locked doors and two sets of stairs to traverse in order to escape from the flat onto the busy East Heath Road. The front bay windows of Flat 2, which look out the road have not been repaired in some years and two of the windows do not open. The side window of the bedroom leads out to a completely enclosed courtyard between 18 and 19 East Heath Road with no access to the street. In case of a fire, the only escape is either via a very small part of a poorly repaired bay window, or through three locked doors and two staircases.  

	▪	Ventilation and Noise
The solid concrete flat roof construction of Studio B allows only for side ventilation of the flat which sits mostly under street level. This results in significant accumulation of damp and requires a powerful electric ventilator, which creates noise for neighbouring residents. Flat 2, which shares the flat roof with Studio B over it’s bathroom has no windows and would also require a similarly powerful ventilation pump to remove moisture, creating additional noise pollution. There have already been instances of a build up of black mould in the lower ground floor flats, which flourishes in dark, damp and poorly ventilated conditions

  Benefits of the proposed development

	•	Front Entrance
Creation of a new front entrance for Flat 2 would:
a) provide an adequate and safe fire escape for Flat 2;
b) improve the appearance of the lower ground courtyard of 18 EHR, which faces East Heath Road, by creating a feature of the front entrance. This will be in keeping with the traditional period features of the arched bay, will incorporate Victorian brass lanterns (serving as security lights), which can be found elsewhere, including street lighting in Hampstead and updating the encaustic tiling on the ground of the courtyard. Due to the new entrance being used regularly, there will be a significantly increased incentive to maintain the area tidy and free of rubbish. 
c) improve security for the three lower ground floor flats by installing security lighting and installing a new gate to the railings, which will be complementary to the decorative railing found along the path leading to the main entrance of the property. 

	•	Lantern Skylight
The creation of the skylight will:
a) provide safe ventilation as well as light for the bathroom of Flat 2, without the need to install noisy electrical ventilating equipment;
b) create a feature in keeping with the traditional Victorian decor of the property, as the design and materials will match those used traditionally in Victorian architecture. 

A structural engineer has been consulted in respect of the creation of the skylight with requisite parameters being calculated in respect of making the proposed structure safe. A qualified and registered builder is currently undertaking works on the flat and will be retained to make the proposed changes once these are permitted. 

A house meeting for the owners of 18 EHR will be held in the course of September to discuss the above changes along with other house issues. Colloquial support for the above changes has been received from some of the neighbours with whom we have discussed the proposal and we hope other flat owners will share in our enthusiasm for these changes. 

Sincerely,

Evgenia and Leonid Mironov