Go-ahead despite fear that ‘Rustbucket’ will ruin street

STRIKING designs for a ‘House of Steel’ have been approved by planning chiefs despite concern that it will wreck the village feel of a Hampstead street.
Property developer Richard Sugarman, 42, has been told he is free to demolish Magnolia Cottage in North End and replace it with a home built of modern materials including toughened glass and layers of rusted steel.
He bought the house three years ago with his wife Sarah for about £500,000 but was only given permission for the demolition and rebuild at a council planning meeting on Thursday.
Approval came despite opposition from Tory councillor Mike Greene, who said: “The area around North End is quite unique in its villagey atmosphere. One thing the houses have in common is their traditional design. It is effectively a little bit of country still in Camden.
“ To put in a strikingly contemporary design such as this would change the character of the area and not change it for the good.”
Lib Dem councillor Margaret Little, who abstained, added: “I’m very ambivalent about this. This strange kind of finish with rusted metal may or may not work.”
Planning officials had advised that the existing building, named after a magnolia tree in the garden, was not worth saving.
Alarmed residents fear the new building – known to some as ‘The Rustbucket’ – will spoil their street. One neighbour, Mark Toberman, said: “Residents of North End and the surrounding area have been subjected to numerous building works disrupting the peace and tranquillity of this conservation area, which should be protected.”
Surveyor Stephen Job Associates, representing other neighbours, warned: “The proposed house would be in an uncompromisingly contemporary style and flat-roofed. It would be wholly out of character.”
But Labour councillor Heather Johnson, backing the scheme on Thursday, said: “It’s an unusual area, with different kinds of houses. A good piece of modern architecture would be welcome in the borough.”