Air Rights Developments

There is a great demand for new development in the UK, whether to satisfy commercial needs or to supply the housing market. However, as our cities become more congested, greenfield and brownfield plots have become rarer. In addition, protections such as conservation area status, listed buildings and so on can make it challenging to clear sites for redevelopment. Therefore, it has become more common to consider developing below existing properties, in basements, and above them (often called 'overbuild').

Generally, the property owner will also own the rights to the air above the property that they could reasonably use (excluding the flight paths of aircraft). That is, they may be able to develop above their property subject to planning permission. However, these rights can be sold or leased, enabling the construction of 'air-rights' buildings. Typically, air-rights buildings are constructed above existing infrastructures such as roads or railways or over facilities such as low-rise shopping centres that may have been developed when space was less expensive. Building over existing assets means no land is required for these developments - a massive bonus for high-density, urban locations. In inner cities, air rights buildings may increase public transport ridership, which means less congestion and emissions and constitutes a more sustainable solution to urban development. Furthermore, they may offer financial incentives for asset owners who benefit from the development.

Our client bought the right to develop above a building in this case. They purchased the air rights for a single-storey extension on the buildings. In the same deal, they agreed to refurbish the outside of the existing building. This will result in a very new-looking building, which is excellent for everyone. The client will own the new flats on that extra storey. The site example here essentially features two existing buildings, for which the client acquired air rights to build the additional accommodation. We propose adding another storey on both buildings for four new units. To make the building look more cohesive with the original storey, we are also proposing to re-render the facades and add modern vertical stripes (made of render).?

Air rights developments are popular with our developer clients but also easy gains for planners to add more housing without requiring more land. Here we can add between two and four additional flats without any new land. Some developers predominantly deal with air rights; they will go around looking for buildings at a slightly lower rise and their neighbours.

This type of development can be quite complex. Developers need to consider several factors:

• The structure and condition of the existing building – We usually look at lightweight extensions on the top but can the original building take it?
• Will there be any extra burden on the existing parking?
• There will be shadowing, so will the new space overlook or create daylight or sunlight issues for the neighbours by going up?
• What effect will two to four extra flats have on the local area?
• What considerations need to be made for outdoor amenity space?

If it's debatable whether there is enough parking available for additional flats in the area, that will need addressing during the planning process. Other apartments may be refused parking permits. This is where we work with a team of expert consultants to advise on overlooking daylighting, parking, cycle stalls and outdoor amenity space. My advice to developers considering an air rights site for development is to create a checklist of those things. So when you see a site that you think may be appropriate to extend upwards, think about its impact on neighbouring buildings and the streets nearby. Then the age and condition of the existing building before approaching the owners to see if they want to enter into a discussion. The owners will almost always be able to negotiate a decent compensation for several months of disruption. ?

The construction work is usually lightweight. They have a structural design, which is overloaded to take an extra story. the usual way of doing this is you span, create a floating grid on top of the existing building or structure, and sit your new structure on top. So you do that by sharing the load around the outside walls. The advantage of this build is that you can make a lot of this off-site. And so the construction process can be pretty quick. And often, there have been additional benefits to the block; for instance, in this case, the developers agreed to re-render the whole building. So as part of those works, you'll get a lovely new building.

For an informal chat about a potential air rights site or development, get in touch and I'll arrange a call.

https://gunn-associates.com/

References: https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Air-rights_buildings