Basement applications

Basement planning applications up 183%



Planning applications for basements have risen by 183% since 2012.


A recent report found that just one in five Brits (22%) claimed to live in their dream home, and higher value ownership didn’t always bring home happiness.

Research from Halifax Insurance’s Dream Abode study found that almost two-thirds (62%) of those who lived in properties worth more than £500,000 claimed their current house wasn’t their dream home.

A fifth of homeowners (22%) have spent at least £11,000 on domestic improvements in the last two years, and almost two-thirds (63%) have done up their dwellings over that period, typically spending between £2,000-5,000.

The data also showed how Britain’s ‘dream home’ is changing, with single-storey extensions seeing an increase of 49% since 2012 and loft conversions up 43% in the same period.

Meanwhile, conservatories and porches are falling out of fashion in most parts of the country, recording a 3% fall in applications over the last five years.

“The way we live in our homes is evolving,” said Melanie Backe-Hansen, historian and author of ‘House Histories’.

“Take the example of basements and the trend for extending downwards: this is probably down to a lack of space in our cities and towns, and it represents a big shift in the way we think about our homes.

“If we look back to Georgian and Victorian times, the basement is where you’d have found the kitchen and the servants’ quarters and was certainly not viewed as a space to be used for family life.”



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