Structural opening and kitchen relocation in a mansion flat, St John's Wood

Mansion flats in St John's Wood are governed by strict block leases and estate management covenants that scrutinise structural alterations, wet-over-dry room changes, acoustic separation and contractor logistics. The client wished to form a wider opening between the reception room and dining hall and relocate the kitchen closer to the living space.

Because internal alterations to an unlisted flat do not require planning permission when the external elevations remain untouched, the decisive approval route was the freeholder Licence to Alter alongside a Full Plans Building Regulations submission. We surveyed the existing masonry spine wall, floor joist spans and vertical soil-stack positions before freezes were agreed on the layout.

In coordination with the structural engineer, we detailed a spliced steel lintel and padstones that could be carried up the communal stair by hand without crane lifts, keeping bearing loads within the existing brickwork pier capacity. The relocated kitchen was kept over the building service corridor rather than a neighbour bedroom, with a bunded waterproof membrane, leak-detection shut-off valve and resilient acoustic cradles detailed across the entire floor.

The complete drawing, structural, M&E and method-statement pack was issued to the block managing agent and reviewing surveyor, securing the executed Licence to Alter and Building Regulations plan approval ahead of the contractor start date.