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 Artist's impression of Athlone House development
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Dream home poses a threat to mansion
New owners want to demolish historic Athlone House
ATHLONE House mansion is facing the bulldozers as new owners plan to build their dream home on the site overlooking Hampstead Heath.
The former hospital, in Hampstead Lane, was sold by the NHS in 2004 for £16 million and was due to be turned into luxury flats.
In a long planning wrangle a development brief was put together by Camden Council and civic groups, including the Heath and Hampstead Society and Highgate Society, to safeguard the views from Kenwood grounds and minimise the impact of the new luxury, gated estate being built in the hospital grounds.
But the New Journal has learned that the house, dating from the mid-1800s and worth, without the grounds, more than £5 million, has been sold separately.
The new owners plan to ask for permission to raze the existing building and put up a new home in its place.
Preliminary meetings between the new owners’ legal advisor, David Cooper, and Highgate Society have taken place, although plans have yet to be submitted to the Town Hall.
Mr Cooper said his client, whose identity he would not reveal, was “well-resourced” and was planning a money-no-object building programme.
He said: “This is a highly-sophisticated client and he wants nothing but the best for the site.”
He added that the designs – still on the drawing board but nearing completion – would be presented to the Athlone House working group, set up to bring together developers and civic groups, for comments.
Mr Cooper. a solicitor who recently represented the owners of the Garden House, a property in the Vale of Health which was saved from demolition following a judicial review, added: “There is a nostalgia for Athlone House, but the question is: does it enhance or preserve the conservation area?
“My client plans to build a new home on what we consider to be perhaps the finest site in the United Kingdom. We want to take people with us on this project – it is going to be a masterpiece.”
However, any new building will be contrary to the planning brief, which states the house should be kept and restored.
The Highgate Society’s Michael Hammerson said: “We have met with the lawyers of the new owners, and it is not completely clear what they want to do.
“We have heard suggestions that they want to demolish it, but the planning brief for the site is dependent on retaining the house.”
Michael Welbank, of the Heath and Hampstead Society, who also sits on the City of London’s Heath consultative committee, said any development would be carefully monitored.
He added: “A lot will depend on what is put in its place.
“The original permission was for the new development that included the existing house, but there is nothing to stop new owners putting in a new planning permission request.”
Athlone House is not listed by English
Heritage, and one of the main concerns of
campaigners who forced the Town Hall into drawing up a strict planning brief was how any
new development will affect views from the Heath.
Mr Cooper said of Athlone House: “We have done a detailed assessment of the quality of the building.
“It has been badly knocked about and is not in good condition.” |
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