Council say no consent given for work in conservation area

The council has launched an investigation into the partial demolition of a large residential property in West Putney which they say has been carried out without planning consent.

Builders appear to have substantially demolished the large detached family home at 23 Gwendolen Avenue, which is part of the West Putney conservation area. It changed hands for £3,535,000 this April.

Substantial or total demolition of a property in a conservation area without the appropriate permissions is an offence under planning laws.

The council’s planning enforcement team has now launched an investigation into the precise scale and nature of the demolition and the reasons behind it.

Depending on the outcome of that investigation, the owner or developer could face enforcement action, and could be ordered to rebuild the property. If it is deemed that an offence has been committed under planning laws they could also face prosecution.

Building work being undertaken at the property: Putney Society

In June the Putney Society made an objection to an application to demolish the existing chimney stacks and make alterations including adding a side extension to the property. The Putney Society say in their objection letter that they were unable to view the full plans due to the planning section of the Wandsworth Council site being inaccessible. The application was made on 27 May but, according to the Council's planning portal, has since been withdrawn.

The West Putney Conservation Area Appraisal document states "Gwendolen Avenue is most notable for the 'Medallion Houses', a coherent collection of gabled detached houses arranged on both sides of Gwendolen Avenue between Howard's Lane and Hazlewell Road, from nos. 11-23 and 20-28. All were built to be almost identical, with rendered half-height bays, simple entrance porches and iron railings to their first floor balconies. The front boundary brick walls with their distinctive cast iron railings and timber entrance gates are highly important, though many are either incomplete or have been lost.”

According to the objection from the Putney Society the boundary wall at the front of 23 Gwendolen Road was demolished at some point before May of this year without permission.

Planning chairman Cllr Sarah McDermott said; “It is important that we get to the bottom of what has happened in Gwendolen Avenue and closely examine the scale of the work that has been carried out here and the reasons why this has been done.

“This is in issue that will have caused great concern to neighbours and others living in the conservation area. This is a very striking historic property with great architectural value that makes a very important contribution to the street scene and to the conservation area as a whole.”

August 4, 2015