David Thomas, lead Committee member on retrofitting, writes:

Upgrading work is nearing completion on this Camden Council-owned block of 58 bedsits and self-contained flats. Most of the residents have been able to stay in their homes while the work was carried out.  The two original mid-19th century buildings were converted in the 1950s, with a connecting block added in the 1980s.

In late February, Sim Dhinsa, Camden’s Retrofit Programme Manager, accompanied by a representative from their energy consultants and main contractor, kindly gave three of us a guided tour of work in progress. We were impressed.

The thermal mass of the building has been upgraded using wall insulation fitted externally on three of the elevations and internally on the fourth where space was limited. This has ensured the minimum disturbance to the residents and avoided any reduction in the usable internal floor area of most of the flats. It extends up to the soffit at the underside of the roof and ties in with additional insulation within the roof area. A render finish has been applied externally on the three elevations.

The original single-glazed timber sash windows have been removed and replaced with thermally improved, slim, double-glazed timber sash windows to match. The existing internal timber door sets with single-glazing panels have been replaced with more robust and thermally efficient double-glazed ones. The improvements to the windows and doors were necessary to meet the revised approved documents “L- Conservation of Fuel and Power” and the London Borough of Camden carbon climate emergency targets.

New architectural features have been installed on the front and rear elevations. Mouldings with stone effect form new quoins at wall corners, window surrounds, dentils and bands to recreate the appearance of the original two detached pairs of houses. The rear elevation is less decorative, with quoins, window surround and bands.

With the external walls upgrade and the improved airtightness of the building, it has been necessary to provide adequate ventilation to prevent overheating and high moisture content.

The mechanical ventilation system in the communal areas has been repaired and extractor fans now replace the airbricks in the individual flats.

Photo-voltaic panels have been installed on the front elevation roof to provide renewable energy. The building is four storeys high so that their visual impact from the street level will be minimal.

The Council and its residents were consulted throughout to ensure that the design is the best solution to improve thermal performance, reduce carbon emissions and combat fuel poverty.

In a separate scheme, heat pump adopters open up their homes to encourage other UK householders considering swapping their gas boiler for an electric heat pump: they can see how they work by visiting an early adopter in their area. A new service aims to help would-be heat pump adopters to book a visit with households that already have one installed through a website launched by the innovation charity Nesta. The site, VisitAHeatPump.com, allows potential users to locate one of 150 households that have signed up to show them their low-carbon heating systems.

Stay in touch on retrofit@belsize.org.uk.

At an event in central London, NW3 residents gathered to celebrate the launch of David Percy’s book, “Remarkable Homes of NW3”. Local resident David has brought together stories about 100 houses in our area as well as Hampstead and Primrose Hill. The selected houses are a diverse pick of the fine homes in the area. The book combines history with architecture, interior design and also insights from the current residents of the houses. Many of these residents were able to attend the launch.

At the event, David was presented with a commemorative award sponsored by the Belsize Society and the Belsize Conservation Area Advisory Committee to mark David’s contribution to local history. Members may remember the premiere of the second part of the Belsize Story that the Belsize Residents Association, BelSoc’s precursor organisation, hosted over ten years ago. David has also been responsible for compelling glimpses of the past and present of the Belsize area through other books, writing and photography as well as through the belsizevillage.co.uk website. 

Remarkable Homes is published and supported by local independent estate agency, KIRE, who teamed up with David to produce this iconic book in 2022. KIRE’s Mike McHale and Samuel Patterson described how it was conceived and the effort and care taken to assemble the rich historical detail, the 750 photographs and the participation of homeowners. They gave thanks to the homeowners that helped.

Remarkable Homes of NW3

 “David S Percy’s beautiful book brings out the remarkable variety of architecture from magnificent mansions to charming cottages, built in so many different styles over the last 300 years or so, that make every Hampstead street so intriguing. He looks at who built them, how they have fared over time, and talks to present owners about how they care for them. Wonderfully illustrated, with interiors and gardens, this book is a ‘must-have’; a most welcome contribution to Hampstead history which will give hours of pleasure to anyone who, like me, loves looking at and reading about interesting houses.”

– Helen Lawrence, former Chair, The Heath & Hampstead Society 

“At the heart of this fascinating book are David’s stunning photographs. NW3 at its most beautiful.  And as David guides us systematically around the area, he introduces us not only to the houses, but also to the streets and neighbourhoods where they are located.  We find out about the country estates that predated the housing, and why and when they were developed.  And we see how they looked in previous centuries through a wonderful array of engravings, paintings and old photographs.  And if you want to lift your spirits on a damp grey day, the bright sunshine and clear blue skies in David’s photos will surely provide the perfect tonic!”  

– Averil Nottage, former Chair, Belsize Residents’ Association,

Hardcover 320 pages, full colour throughout with over 750 photographs, and available at Daunt Books £60