September 2012: Camden have published new guidance for home owners in Dartmouth Park who want to make changes to improve the efficiency of their homes. Camden says that the “guidance shows that historic homes of the types found in Camden’s conservation areas can be made more energy efficient, often through relatively minor and easy changes, and still retain their special character and appearance. Where major energy efficiency measures are required, the guidance sets out how and where these are likely to be acceptable”.
Dartmouth Park Conservation Area is largely typified by houses with solid brick external walls, without a cavity. In terms of the forthcoming Green Deal and ECO, both of which strongly support the greater use of solid wall insulation (SWI) the guidance sets out that ‘External Wall Insulation’ (EWI) proposals will need planning permission, but approval is not needed for Internal Wall Insulation (IWI). For EWI the guidance goes on to say[p16] that:
- “It [EWI] will rarely be acceptable on the front elevation of a building unless render already exists as part of the building’s original design.”
- It may be acceptable on the side elevation of a building depending on the prominence of this elevation and the presence of architectural features.
- Many rear elevations are visible from the street due to long views along the rear of terraces and an approach which preserves these views will be expected. This will usually mean that external insulation to the garden level will be acceptable, but not upper storeys.
A comprehensive street-by-street breakdown of what will be acceptable in terms of energy efficiency improvements is then provided (!) and pages 33-36 provide further guidance on specific aspects of EWI.