Latchmere Estate Conservation Area (2022/3212, 3213, 3220, 3225, 3235, 3237, 3238)
The Battersea Society objects most strongly to the damage to the Conservation Area of work currently being undertaken in direct contravention to the Article 4 directions and to the planning permission given for the original applications.
Not only is the work being done to a different design to the existing doors and windows (see attached letter for details) but the work is being done to an inadequate standard compared with the original work. In the case of windows they appear to have been poorly measured with gaps filled with foam which we understand are then being covered with mastic and paint rather than the traditional – and weather proof – mortar originally used.
The doors are strikingly different from the existing doors and in a small, but significant, anachronistic detail the numbers are not painted above the door but metal letters placed on the door itself. The examples at 1 and 3 Freedom Street of a new and existing door side by side show this clearly. See photographs.
To make things even worse it appears that both freeholders and some leaseholders are able to opt out of the changes. Changing the sturdy existing doors with modern and inferior substitutes is not only a substantial waste of council tax payers’ money but will also result in substantial harm to the streetscape through the very noticeable mix of doors. .
As the Conservation Area Appraisals states:
2.1 The Latchmere Estate Conservation Area was designated on 19th September1974. The special character of the area derives from the fact that little has changed since the Estate was completed in 1903. Latchmere was the first municipal housing estate in the country to be built using a council's own workforce. The most striking feature of the Estate’s appearance is the uniformity of the terraces. There is no variety between individual houses and little variety between terraces. Consequently, an alteration to the appearance of any one house spoils the uniformity of the terrace and can spoil the appearance of the whole street. Overall, there is a unity and totality about the area deriving from the simple, complementary nature of the architecture.
It is a matter of pride to Battersea residents that this Estate was featured in the SAVE publication Rediscovered Utopias – sadly it seems, not a view shared by Wandsworth Council Housing Department who have neglected to do any upkeep to the fabric of the estate over many years. At the same time they have ignored the Article 4 planning requirements when replacing doors and the Council itself has failed to deal with poor quality replacement doors.
The Council should, as a matter of urgency, look to rectify its decision to proceed with work which is destroying the integrity of the Conservation area and which is in contravention of the terms of the planning permission. It is not for us to put forward a possible solution but we trust the Conservation team, the Wandsworth Conservation Areas Committee and the Housing Department can work together.