Drummond Street, Euston: Residential Retrofit and Vertical Extension

Client: HGG London

Architects: Bureau de Change

Description of Development: Comprehensive refurbishment and extension of an existing mixed-use building to deliver five high-quality residential homes (Use Class C3), including a two-storey roof extension and rear winter gardens.

Location: 155 Drummond Street, London NW1 2PB

Project Overview: Design-Led Urban Intensification in a Transforming Context

The Drummond Street project delivers a highly sustainable and architecturally distinctive residential redevelopment within the Euston Growth Area, transforming an underutilised building into a contemporary five-home scheme. The proposals respond to the intense development pressures associated with wider regeneration, demonstrating how sensitive retrofit and vertical extension can contribute positively to housing delivery and townscape quality in a complex urban environment.

Maddox Planning acted as planning consultant for the scheme, providing strategic advice from early design development through to securing planning permission. This included managing pre-application engagement with the London Borough of Camden, coordinating specialist technical assessments and preparing the planning application and supporting documentation.

Key Issues Addressed

Design, Townscape and Architectural Quality: The site occupies a prominent position on Drummond Street, forming part of the perimeter block around Tolmer’s Square and accommodating a rare undercroft that maintains pedestrian and vehicular permeability through the site. The proposals introduce a five-storey plus mansard building that sits comfortably within the established street rhythm, while clearly expressing its contemporary identity.

A defining feature of the scheme is its innovative material strategy. Existing bricks from the building were crushed and reused as aggregate within a bespoke stone-like composite façade, physically embedding the site’s history within the new architecture. This approach was supported by officers as an exemplary response to context, sustainability and materiality, and has since been widely recognised within the architectural press.

Housing Delivery and Quality: The development provides five new homes, comprising a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments, including upper-level maisonettes. All dwellings exceed nationally described space standards and benefit from generous daylight, dual aspect layouts and high-quality private amenity space, including winter gardens and roof-level terraces. The scheme delivers a significant uplift in residential floorspace while maintaining a high standard of internal environment for future occupiers.

Neighbour Amenity and Urban Constraints: Given the dense urban context and proximity of neighbouring residential properties, careful attention was given to daylight, sunlight, privacy and outlook. Detailed BRE-compliant assessments demonstrated that, while some impacts are inevitable in this constrained location, the proposals would not result in unacceptable harm to neighbouring amenity. Officers concluded that the scheme strikes an appropriate balance between optimisation of the site and protection of surrounding residential conditions.

Sustainability and Retrofit-Led Development: Sustainability was central to the planning strategy. The scheme prioritises deep retrofit over wholesale redevelopment, substantially reducing embodied carbon. High-performance fabric, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, air source heat pumps and water efficiency measures enable the development to achieve on-site carbon reductions significantly in excess of policy requirements. This approach aligns with both Camden and London Plan objectives to promote low-carbon, retrofit-led development in highly accessible locations.

Transport and Accessibility: The site benefits from excellent public transport accessibility and the development is secured as car-free. Secure cycle parking is provided within the undercroft, supplemented by on-street provision secured through the Section 106 agreement. The proposals support sustainable travel patterns and respond appropriately to the site’s constrained footprint.

A Benchmark Retrofit Scheme for Central London

The Drummond Street project exemplifies Maddox Planning’s expertise in delivering complex, design-led residential schemes in highly constrained urban environments. Through a collaborative approach with the design team and proactive engagement with officers, the scheme secures planning permission for an innovative, sustainable and architecturally significant development that contributes meaningfully to housing delivery and the evolving townscape of Euston.

Trace: A retrofit-led residential scheme responding to the changing context of Euston