Walm Lane
This project was a new build side extension of existing Westly Court, Dartmouth Rd, Brent, London NW2. Westly Court is a four storey block of 16 flats, with the top having been recently built pursuant to two complementary planning permissions. The site lies at the edge of Wilesden Green Town Centre, which has a full range of easy pedestrian access to town centre shops and restaurants.
The site lies within Mapesbury Conservation Area, but itself is not of an architectural interest as it is a garage. The proposed new building replaces the unattractive, blank façade of the single storey garage, which in itself makes no visual contribution to the area. This unappealing site lay between Westly Court and the neighboring residential units on Dartmouth Road, which are highly desirable in the rental market. Both Westly Court and its proposed extension have their frontage towards Dartmouth Road.
The proposal is a four storey side extension, to match the neighbouring contemporary Westly Court; with an approximate height of 12m, width of 9m and depth of 8m. Westly Court has an existing footprint of 380m2; the proposed extension is less than a 1/10th of this at 33m2. The new building essentially filled in a “missing tooth” in the street elevation.The current access to the 3 garages in the yard was retained. Also careful consideration to the guidance offered on the Brent Council website.
The proposal steps back from both the front and the rear faces of the adjacent Westly Court to mimic the stepping rhythm of the other end of Westly Court and to ensure no loss of daylight and sunlight occurs to the existing neighbouring properties.
