Essex
County
Party Wall London provides Party Wall services in the Southern England County of Essex.
Essex is a County in the East of England which borders Kent and Greater London to the South, Cambridgeshire to the North and Hertfordshire to the West. The County being mostly rural, has two major cities: Southend-on-Sea and Chelmsford. London Stansted Airport is situated in Essex and provides a base for many low-cost European carriers.
Some major districts in Essex are Epping Forest, Colchester, Brentwood, Uttlesford, Harlow and Basildon.
The Local authority is Essex County Council, where the main quarters are located in a County Hall in Chelmsford.
In the district of Harlow, the most common dwelling type are terraced properties, making up 50% of the housing stock. Compared to the national average of 28% of residents living in terraced houses, Harlow has a strong fondness of the red brick Victorian house or a modern three-storey townhouse. To maintain the aesthetic of the uniform terraced streets, single-storey rear extensions and rear dormer loft conversions are popular projects amongst terraced property owners. Due to nature of the infrastructure of terraced properties, Harlow homeowners are most likely required to serve a Party Wall Notice(s) on their neighbour(s) when proposing either of these projects.
Chimney breast removal projects are often not considered as substantial work by most individuals. However, if a chimney breast removal is proposed on a party wall, there are certain risks involved that the Adjoining Owner should be made aware of. For example, hasty builders using aggressive tools have led to many holes in party walls during the process of removing a chimney breast. Therefore, Building Owners must give Notice to the Adjoining Owners of such works to enable adequate preparation. This may be in the form of prepping their home physically by moving breakable valuables away from the work site, or appointing a Party Wall Surveyor to make the necessary checks to ensure that the project will be carried out safely.
A common misconception of Party Walls is that each party owns ONLY their proportional half of the wall. However, as the wall carries out an essential structural duty for both properties, both parties own the entire wall. Thus, it is imperative that you inform your neighbours what you plan on doing to this shared wall.
Brentwood and Uttlesford have the highest proportion of detached houses in Essex (Brentwood 32%, Uttlesford 42%). Detached properties usually come with more land and perhaps disturbance to neighbours are less of a concern compared to those living in semi-detached or terraced properties. However, we would like to make known that excavations within 6 metres of a neighbouring property will be a notifiable work under the Act if the bottom of the proposed foundation will intercept the neighbouring foundation at a 45º line.
Party Wall London is able to advice you on projects which come under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. Some examples include: single storey rear & side extensions, loft conversions and chimney breast removals in Essex.