Petition launched to fight Water House mansion plans for quiet Highgate lane

A quiet Highgate road could be closed for two years and damaged by heavy lorries if latest plans to rebuild a house on the edge of Hampstead Heath are approved, residents claim.

This quiet Highgate lane, on the left, could be closed for up to two years under plans to build a mansion called the Water House in Millfield Lane. Picture: Polly Hancock - Credit: Archant

The Friends of Millfield Lane have launched a petition against a revised proposal to demolish the four-bedroom Water House and replace it with a home more than double its size, with two basements and a swimming pool. The house could take two years to be built, and the leafy track might have to be closed off during construction, it has been suggested.

It is thought HGVs would have to drive up and down the road more than 900 times. The plans were submitted in 2011 but have been revised several times since.

The Water House is opposite Kenwood Ladies’ Pond, and campaigners claim the building works would pose a threat to swimmers.

Water House neighbour Karen Beare said: “With the equivalent of 60 fully-laden jumbo jets trundling along Millfield Lane, it does not take a rocket scientist to understand that such a massive project will cause permanent damage to the local environment and long-term disruption.”

The petition is at: you.38degrees.org.uk/p/waterhouse