Basement conversion provokes controversy

15:10:20 20th October 2009

A multi-million pound redevelopment project at a house in Chelsea has been met with criticism, following accusations that it has altered the local environment and is out of step with local architecture.

The Paulton Square development has created a 40ft by 20ft living space in the basement of a terraced house running beneath the property´s garden but it has proved unpopular with some local residents, the Daily Mail reported yesterday (October 19th).

Property developer Robin Lister purchased the house two years ago, and installed a temporary conveyor belt to carry soil away from the basement during its transformation. He is hoping to sell the house for over £7 million.

However conservation group the Chelsea Society, which exists to preserve the historic character of the area, has criticised the premise of the cellar development.

The society´s honourable secretary for planning, Terence Bendixson told the newspaper: "If you dig up a garden and put in a basement, you render it incapable of absorbing rainwater."

"Basements upset the architectural balance of traditional London houses - the cellar used to be the servants´ quarters, not a living room."

He also highlighted the risk cellar developments can pose to plane trees.

It is possible that a log cabin or state-of-the-art shed development in the garden would have proved less controvertial.

Find out more information about log cabins.