Party Wall Appointment
High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP10
(Buckinghamshire Council)
Close to Penn and Hazelmere in Buckinghamshire. Within the catchment of our High Wycombe office.
Background: The works required excavation for foundations within 3 m of the adjoining owner's property and below the level of the adjoining owner's foundations.
We were appointed by the adjoining owner to act on his behalf as 'adjoining owner's Surveyor'.
The building owner's Surveyor and the adjoining owner's Surveyor collaborated in preparing the Party Wall Award.
The works involved the demolition of the existing garden wall and its replacement with the new flank wall of the proposed rear extension. The flank wall foundations would thus have the dual purpose of retaining the building owner's land and supporting the flank wall.
Conclusion:
The proposed removal of the retaining wall separating the two gardens had to be carefully considered given that the building owner's land was up to 1 m higher than the adjoining owner's land and the existing retaining wall (pictured) could not realistically be removed without the risk of land collapse during the interim period between the wall being removed, and being replaced.
This necessitated careful consideration both in terms of the design of the foundations of the replacement flank wall and also the method that was to be employed by the contractors when undertaking the demolition works.
Whilst the building owner had the right to undertake the proposed works, he also had a duty to do so in such a way that would not result in the ground collapsing and causing damage and inconvenience to the adjoining owners.