Four days on from the dramatic collapse of a historic Georgian town house in Barnes, concerns have been raised over 'iceberg developments' in Richmond.
FROM THURSDAY: Multi-million pound Georgian riverside townhouse, which was undergoing 'iceberg development', collapses in Barnes
The multi-million pound riverside townhouse, which was undergoing extensive basement redevelopment, collapsed in The Terrace on Thursday morning.
The six-bedroom property's basement was being developed to include a cinema room, an entertainment area, a gym and a laundry room.
The house, which was previously owned by Duffy, collapsed shortly before midday on Thursday
Matthew Hearsum, a solicitor-advocate at Morrisons Solicitors in Richmond, said: "It is fair to say basement extension are an unpopular type of development and this incident shows why.
"The damage can be catastrophic if the works are not designed, executed and supervised by experienced experts.
"We do not yet know what the cause of the collapse is.
"However, given that The Terrace is within a functional flood plain of the Thames, it is likely that interference with the groundwater played a part in the collapse."
The entire home was left destroyed following the collapse (picture: Howard Goodall)
The planning application was approved in October 2014 but under Richmond Council's new basement rules, brought in in May 2015, the basement would not have been permitted at all because it is in a functional floodplain.
It displayed a blue plaque in honour Ebenezer Cobb Morley, a founder member of the FA who wrote the rules of modern football, and was previously owned by pop singer Duffy.
Nobody was injured in the collapse and roads reopened at 5am on Sunday.
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