A unique collaboration between neighbours to provide much
needed additional housing in an environmentally sustainable way
and to restore lost uniformity to a significant group of 12 houses
in the Primrose Hill Conservation area.

1. The planning application.
The application is about two facing
terraces of six houses each in Fitzroy
Road. One of the houses, 36, has a
missing parapet, which is an eyesore,
and there is a solitary roof extension
at 23, which consequently sticks out
like a sore thumb. The plan is to build
matching extensions on all the others,
to restore the missing parapet and, by
doing all the work as a single contract,
to reduce the disturbance in Fitzroy
Road to a minimum. The project
will improve the appearance of the
buildings by restoring uniformity of
the roofline across both terraces.
2. A unique approach.
The idea of a joint development by the
separate owners of the 12 houses (the
‘Fitzroofers”) evolved in discussions
between them over a number of
and without adverse impact on
years. Different strands were woven the environment. The Fitzroofers
together. Some families had an
hope to demonstrate that a
immediate need for more space.
collaborative community approach
Others knew they would require it in can find solutions to these otherwise
future.
intractable problems.
All were aware of the wider
The Fitzroofers (with the exception
significance of the issues they
of one whose house is currently
confronted in microcosm; namely
unoccupied] are a group of long term
that there is a pressing need for
residents, many of whom have been
more housing in London, and that
neighbours for over thirty years, and
significant reductions in carbon
one aim of the proposal is to enable
emissions will result if this can be
them to stay in their homes as their
located in central areas like Fitzroy
needs change over time. Surprisingly
Road, where employment, facilities
perhaps, the extended family, is much
and transport are close at hand and in evidence. There are two families
where car dependency is minimal.
in which grandparents, parents and
The challenge is to find ways of
voung children live together and in
achieving these objectives with
both cases the young mothers lived
the consent of the community
in Fitzroy Road when they themselves