East end of Tufnell Park Road, ‘special enough to be listed’

• ISLINGTON’S listed building heritage is set to be eroded. We hear planners are to recommend approval of a large extension to a house in the listed terrace in Tufnell Park Road, opening the way for major changes in the rest of the terrace and elsewhere.

As creeping changes like this get passed when they go unnoticed, I am writing to let those who value the borough’s heritage know what is going on. With less than two per cent of buildings listed nationally, I hope we can protect what we have in Islington.

The 1830-40s terrace at the east end of Tufnell Park Road is unusual in design and character. It is largely intact and has had no major exterior alterations since Victorian times. That’s why it’s special enough to be listed.

The proposal planners are backing is to change all this and allow construction of a large, rectangular extension. Degrading one house would be bad enough, but it’s hard to see why, if one household should be allowed to gain, everyone else should not do the same. This proposal sets a bad precedent.

Planners controlled preservation of features in my house down to the inch 15 years ago. It’s not clear why they are changing their approach. No one is contending this proposal benefits the house or the terrace, or that it protects our heritage better.

So it seems planners have dropped aiming to keep standards as high as possible in favour of a passive approach of letting things go if they think them not bad enough to block or raise objections. Yet, the listed building and local conservation area guidance is clear. Any alteration should not compromise the building or its surroundings.

My family have been lucky enough to live in the terrace since 2001. The privilege of having such a lovely house meant that, along with everyone else, we must maintain it according to the rules and forgo the value gain of building extensions.
Now, it seems these values are being tested and we need to make new efforts to protect the best of the built environment in Islington.

JOS and JANE WHEATLEY
Tufnell Park Road, N7