Published: 4 March, 2014
by DAN CARRIER

IT is a decade-long saga over a home improvement project that has seen neighbours living in the quiet Heath-side enclave, the Vale of Health, face each other in court. And it’s not over yet. 

Owners of the Garden House, which overlooks Hampstead Heath ponds, have sparked a fresh raft of objections after making a new bid to win permission for an extension in their back garden.

Twin brothers Alex and Thalis Vlachos, who own the Garden House, have put in 14 applications over the past 10 years in their attempt to improve the 1950s, redbrick building inherited from their godfather. In 2006, they found themselves in the High Court as a judicial review hearing blocked plans to build a modernist house on the site.

Protesters claimed this should never have been considered as the garden slopes down to the banks of the Vale of Health pond and is designated as metropolitan open land – the urban equivalent of the green belt.

Their latest application, filed with the Town Hall earlier this month, asks for permission for a one-storey extension.

Architects say that, after discussions with Camden's planning team, it should be allowed as the work is small enough not to exceed what is allowed under “permitted development” rules. 

They add that, while the Vale of Health’s houses are further protected from development by a planning law called an Article Four Directive, the project cannot be seen from the street and therefore this rule does not apply.

But the Vale of Health Society has objected, and the Heath and Hampstead Society is also planning a response.

One objection by a neighbour, who did not want to be named, cited fears that carving a basement into the slope the house sits on could lead to flooding and has not been properly assessed by engineers. 

A group of neighbours who paid for engineering firm Arup to assess the scheme say “it is highly critical” of the proposals.

The objection claimed that the site is hard to access and lacks a plan as to how the extension would be built, adding: “This paucity of detail is unacceptable for a development at a site with unique restrictions on access. The only entry is through an archway not big enough for a vehicle, above and below which are cellars and rooms of neighbouring properties. 

“Because of the restricted access the work is likely to be ex­tremely disruptive to neighbours and have a huge impact on all Vale residents.”

The objection express­ed fear that building work could pollute the Vale pond. 

Vice-chairman of the Heath and Hampstead Society’s planning committee, David Castle, said they were due to decide on a response. He added: “The garden is designated as metropolitan open land and therefore protected, and any extension would be in the garden.”

The brothers and James Gorst Architects, which is working on the project, declined to comment.