Mega basement extensions typical of super-prime London homes are to be outlawed by the royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
The council has won a historic battle to limit the scale of basement developments.
Basements will still be permitted but strict guidelines will now set limits on their scale. Highlights include a reduction in the maximum extent basements can extend under the garden, from 85% to 50%, and a restriction to a single storey in most cases.
Tim Coleridge, council cabinet member for planning policy, said: “Basements have been the single greatest planning concern our residents have expressed to us in living memory.”
The new guidelines will formally be adopted on 21 January 2015 at a council meeting.
Coleridge added: “It hasn’t been easy and basement developers have aggressively opposed us every step of the way. We are delighted that the inspector agrees that we have got it right.”
