Plans to Demolish Distinctive Roehampton Gate Home
Scheme will replace it with a more contemporary house
A visualisation of the proposed house. Picture: AI Studio
August 30, 2024
Plans have been submitted to demolish a distinctive six-bedroom house in Roehampton Gate to replace it with a more contemporary home which will provide an entire floor for guest accommodation.
Planning agent PowerHaus Consultancy has applied to Wandsworth Council for permission to demolish the empty house, which is opposite the entrance to Richmond Park and next to outbuildings which are part of the historic Templeton House estate.
If the plans get the go-ahead, the new house will still include six bedrooms, but will be 100 sq m larger than the existing home and will feature basement rooms and a green roof.
The landscaped garden will include a water feature, a seating area sheltered by a timber pergola, a lawn and a fireplace set within a stone wall. The rear of the house overlooking the garden will include large expanses of glass.
It will take more than a year to complete the work, with the layout of the new property to have a formal guest entrance and a side entrance for what the planning application calls "day-to-day use".
A Design and Access Statement (DAS) submitted on behalf of the applicant says the first floor, featuring four bedrooms and living space, will be for the use of the home's family. The ground floor will provide "guest" accommodation.
An additional Heritage Statement says the existing house was built between the 1920s-1970s and is "not of particular architectural interest, nor does it reflect the architectural style of Templeton House".
The statement adds that Grade II listed Templeton House was built around 1786, following the carving up of the Roehampton Park estate into plots for villas in extensive grounds. But it concludes that the new development will not impact on the setting of Templeton House.
The house as it is currently
The DAS explains that the existing property is structurally unsound, with small rooms accessed from a central entrance hall. The windows are single glazed and the building fabric has poor thermal performance.
The report adds: "The proposal offers a more attractive and sustainable living space, respecting the estate’s formality while taking advantage of the site’s opportunities.
"The new house will have a considered response to the specific site, with a consistent but restrained palette of materials, a more traditional symmetrical front, and a more open, contemporary rear. The internal layout provides architectural and spatial interest, catering to the different uses of a family home."
Wandsworth Council is seeking comments on the scheme until 13 September, and you can give your comments by search for application number 2024/2866 on the council's planning explorer.
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