Context 154 - May 2018

C O N T E X T 1 5 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 8 3 Guidance for Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets has addressed a concern among some residents that the planning controls restricting extending properties within conservation areas are adversely affecting the ability of homeowners to remain in the borough as their families grow. Tower Hamlets has 58 designated conservation areas, covering around 26 per cent of the borough’s land mass. In 2015 the council’s cabinet recommended that the planning system should be more permissive towards extensions, particularly mansard roofs within conservation areas. Kennedy O’Callaghan Architects was appointed to provide a character area assessment in two conservation areas either side of Roman Road, Driffield Road and Medway. The brief included an appraisal of the character of the conservation areas, to categorise properties according to their suitability for extensions and to provide illustrated design guidance for mansard roof extensions. A further study was commissioned, to give detailed guidance on the reinstatement of lost architectural features such as railings, stucco mouldings, doors and windows, and potential improvement to the public domain, to mitigate any perceived harm from loss of the London roofs and the saw-toothed appearance that could be perceived as harmful to the character of the conservation area. The conservation area character appraisal and management guidelines were illustrated and updated in collaboration with the design consultancy Alan Baxter. The guidance provides best-practice standard designs for mansard roof extensions, based on a typical house for each conservation area. It provides guidance on materials, roof profiles and retention of chimneys, and illustrates the V-shaped London roof profile at the rear parapet, treatment for corner properties, compliance with building control and methods of construction. The guidance and revised policy were adopted in 2017. Insall’s at 60 Donald Insall Associates celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. Founded in 1958, the practice has 128 staff working in London and across eight regional offices, with women making up half of the team (excluding administrative staff). Its 1968 Chester Report, a national pilot case study for the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, provided the basis for today’s conservation management plans and historic building appraisals. In 1971 Donald Insall Associates’ role as conservation consultant for the City of Chester led to the creation of a new post for a dedicated conservation officer, the first in the UK. In 1983, the team was strongly involved in the creation of English Heritage. Current projects include the restoration of Kew Gardens’ Temperate House in London, the restoration of the Palace of Westminster (in collaboration with BDP), and the conservation repair of WentworthWoodhouse in South Yorkshire. Sir Donald Insall is still active in the practice. Typical houses in Driffield Road,Tower Hamlets, as they are, and as they could be after reconstruction and with added mansard roofs ‘This is how it works’: IHBC associate member Aimée Felton of Donald Insall Associates at the reopening of Kew Gardens’Temperate House, of whose restoration she is project architect (Photo: Rob Cowan) Sir Donald Insall