60 The Bishops Avenue

Following pre-application consultation, refurbishment and new development proposals for 60 The Bishops Avenue London N2 0BE (known as Dane Court) have now been submitted to Barnet Council (Planning Ref. 26/2523/FUL). This consultation website was launched on behalf of Dane Court Developments LLP who are seeking to deliver these new proposals. Prior to the submission of a planning application to the London Borough of Barnet, they took steps to help local residents, businesses and other interest groups find out more about the emerging plans and provide their feedback.

As a result of feedback received (and summarised in a Statement of Community Involvement), changes were made to the proposed boundary screening of the site as well as the treatment of windows facing Winnington Road.

To further assist the local community, we have also made available key planning documentation as downloads for easy reference. If you require any further information during the post-application period, please do get in touch by using one of the contact points shown on this website.

Dane Court Developments LLP has assembled a Design Team led by award-winning architects Squire & Partners to create a new residential development of exceptional quality. The vision is to retain and refurbish the historic locally listed manor house and its gate house and introduce a new annex, an additional complementary gate house and four new villas within the grounds. A particular focus of the emerging proposals is to curate a beautiful, landscaped garden which will provide an outstanding setting for the existing and proposed buildings.

The site is located on the western side of The Bishops Avenue at its southern end and is approximately 150 metres from the Hampstead Lane junction.

The entirety of the Bishop's Avenue falls within the Hampstead Garden Suburb Conservation Area. This was designated by the local authority in 1968 and was one of the first conservation areas in the country.

The Bishop's Avenue was constructed around 1887 on land which had at one time been part of the Bishop of London's hunting park. Dane Court, completed in 1900 in a Neo-Jacobean stye with its turret and stone door case, was one of the first residential properties constructed on the Avenue.

The site extends to around 2.74 acres (1.1 hectares), and neighbours 62 The Bishops Avenue (Jersey House) to the north and the recently constructed Signature care home at 58 The Bishops Avenue to the south. Opposite the site on the eastern side of The Bishops Avenue is the Buxmead residential development. The western boundary of the site neighbours the rear of residential properties on Danewood Drive, off Winnington Road.

We shared the pre-application plans at the drop-in session on the 30th April at the Hampstead Golf Club. You can view the display boards as we have made them available as a download on this website.

We also presented the plans at a live presentation (webinar) on 6th May. We have made the video recording of the webinar plus the architects’s presentation available on this website.

In advance of the drop-in session and webinar, Dane Court Developments LLP and its design team provided an initial overview of the proposals. The objective, now contained in the submitted application is to create a sensitive masterplan for the site which achieves the following;

• Retention and enhancement of the existing manor house and its gatehouse, ensuring that the now vacant site is maintained and does not fall into disrepair;
• Protection of the historic building’s character and its contribution to the Conservation Area;
• Remodelling of the rear of the manor house, removing the rear modern glazed extension and its replacement with a new façade which sits more comfortably with the original building;
• Introduction of a new annex to replace the existing annex on the northern side of the manor house. This new building to be drawn back from the northern boundary of the site to allow for a new vehicular access route;
• Provision of a new gatehouse close to the southern access into the site off The Bishops Avenue which complements the existing gate house located at the northern access;
• Introduction of four new villas (Ground + 4 storeys in height) which will be situated along the western and south western boundaries of the site;
• Overall, some 54 new apartments (originally 63 in the pre-application consultation propodals) all for private sale within the existing and new buildings ranging in size from one to three-bedrooms (the four-bedroomed apartments presented in the pre-application consultation have been removed);
• Planting of some 7 new medium (8m in height) and 14 large (12 m in height) trees along the south and west boundaries to protect privacy and avoid overlooking of neighbouring properties (enhanced as a result of neighbour feedback);
• Retention of the highest quality trees at the site, removal of generally lower quality trees and planting of a rich variety of new trees (68 in total) as part of the new landscaped gardens;
• Positioning and treatment of windows on the new building elevations facing neighbouring boundaries to minimise overlooking (amended following local feedback);
• Continued use of both the existing vehicular access points to the site off The Bishops Avenue;
• Car parking to be provided at surface level (six spaces including two accessible spaces) and also with a basement located below the new Villas (61 spaces including six accessible spaces) accessed via the new paved vehicular route along the northern boundary of the site. Generous cycle parking provision is also included;
• Design of an exceptional landscape setting featuring new planting and character areas which will provide green spaces for residents to enjoy and bringing enhanced biodiversity;
• Improved environmental sustainability by ensuring that the proposal is low carbon, highly insulated (exceeding regulations), energy efficient and fully powered by renewable energy (air source heat pumps and discreetly concealed solar panels); and
• Appropriate financial contributions under a legal agreement, subject to viability, for local employment opportunities, open space, playspace, affordable housing, transport and biodiversity.

Specialist landscape architects have been appointed by Dane Court Developments LLP to produce a landscape strategy which is now shown in the planning application submission. This provides a range of curated and varied spaces which offer new low level woodland planting and enhancements to the existing woodland. New wildlife enhancements including bat and bird boxes and native species planting will also be delivered.

In addition to retaining the existing trees found at the site as far as possible and planting more trees overall than currently exist at the site, various landscape interventions are envisaged. These will introduce attractive green spaces, improved connectivity, places for play, relaxation and social interaction as well as net gains to biodiversity.

The landscape strategy considers every aspect of the site from the point of entry through to the open spaces found between and adjacent to the existing and proposed buildings. A combination of pedestrian walks and trails, all carefully linked to the lawns, trees, plants, hedgerows and a more formal garden are proposed. The aim is to achieve a very attractive landscape experience for residents and visitors alike which creates a beautiful setting for all the buildings.

The considered and comprehensive approach achieves an Uban Greening Factor of 0.55, exceeding the residential target benchmark of 0.4.