Flying high in Chelsea: air space above London mansion block up for auction for £560,000
The air and roof space above Drayton Court, a red-brick mansion block near Fulham Road, SW10, is being offered as a lot at the next Savills auction with a guide price of £560,000.
“The sale of roof spaces are very rare so it’s not often that they’d get a lot like this, particularly in prime central London,” said Robin Howeson, who is handling the sale.
The rooftop site in the Boltons conservation area comes with planning permission for a new two-bedroom, two-bathroom flat measuring 969sq ft (90sq m), accessed through the existing stair core of the building below.
Plans were submitted in 2013 and the architect’s drawings for the proposed new flat show two en-suite bedrooms linked by a large central living/dining room, with a small kitchen and additional WC.
Building on top of existing buildings received government backing last week as Housing Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed plans to make it easier to build upwards in cities like London and Manchester.
The new policy will be included in the revised draft National Planning Policy Framework due for consultation this year.
Arshad Bhatti, CEO of Apex Airspace, who have agreements with councils, housing associations and supermarkets to build on top of their properties in 2018 welcomed the government announcement.
“Our research shows a potential to build 180,000 homes above London with just a single storey rooftop extension,” he said.
“The way to deal with the housing crisis is a new generation of rooftop townhouses, but manufactured in a factory.
"The modular construction is then shipped to its location and placed on the rooftop, often in less than a day, which minimises road closures and disruption to residents.”