Planning the Hersham purchase survey
A Hersham purchase needs a description of the actual building as well as its address. The village centre, Old Esher Road, Thrupps Lane and West Grove surroundings contain different recorded forms of housing. Elmbridge’s 2012 character guide supplies the historical examples below. Its former planning guidance has since been replaced, so use current council records for an alteration proposal. Send the floor plan and any information about additions when asking which survey scope fits the purchase.
Around Hersham Green: separate upper accommodation from the premises below
Elmbridge’s HER01 account describes shops with accommodation above, residential buildings and larger commercial premises between the Green and the Hersham Bypass junction. Around the open spaces it records buildings of two, three and occasionally four storeys. That mixed frontage calls for an exact identification of the accommodation being bought.
For an upper flat, show the entrance and the route through any shared stair or passage. Ask which roof, rear wall and external areas belong to the building containing the flat, and obtain the lease plan where available. A shop address may identify the frontage without explaining how the dwelling behind or above it is arranged. Include drawings for alterations that changed the ground-floor layout or access to the upper floors. The inspection brief should state which parts can be reached and what remains outside it; the conveyancer should establish rights and responsibilities from the relevant documents.
Old Esher Road and Profumo Road: confirm the building’s own date
The 2012 guide distinguishes mainly post-war housing near Profumo Road from pockets of earlier development on Old Esher Road, including nineteenth-century cottages and larger houses. It records modest two-storey semis, terraces and some flats in this part of its study area. A common postcode therefore gives little help in identifying the purchased building’s construction.
Ask the agent which part of the building supports any period description in the particulars. Provide the current plan alongside older plans if the seller holds them, noting additions that may make a small original cottage appear much larger internally. For a terrace, identify how the back is reached and whether an adjoining occupier controls a passage. For a flat, identify the whole block as well as the dwelling. These details allow the scope discussion to focus on the property’s accessible fabric and alteration history, rather than assigning the date of a neighbouring house to it.
Thrupps Lane: relate the accommodation to the original house
Elmbridge places larger detached Victorian and Edwardian houses along Thrupps Lane within its account of the more varied development south of Esher Road. It also describes mature broadleaf trees in the surrounding character area. This is a recorded building group, not evidence that a particular house retains its original rooms or has a tree-related defect.
Where the sale includes a substantially enlarged house, mark the earlier footprint, later wings and roof accommodation on the plan. Ask for the sequence of work and the drawings available for each addition. Explain whether planted boundaries or locked gates limit views of side and rear elevations. If a concern about cracking or a tree has prompted the enquiry, send photographs and the seller’s available history without assuming a cause from the setting. The Level 3 brief should distinguish the broad purchase survey from any separately required investigation into a reported symptom.
West Grove surroundings: include rooms within the roof in the access brief
The guide’s HER04 account describes larger detached and semi-detached houses around West Grove, mostly two storeys but sometimes with rooms in the roof. It records development from the nineteenth to the late twentieth century, including older groups on Burwood Park Road. That range makes the plan and available records more useful than a single neighbourhood-wide house description.
Identify upper rooms, eaves cupboards and loft hatches before arranging the visit. Ask whether a roof room was part of the original house or a later alteration and request the relevant drawings and completion information. Access to a furnished room does not necessarily provide access to the roof structure around it. Include any adjoining garage or side extension in the scope discussion and explain which outbuildings are part of the sale. Check the exact address against current council information: the old character assessment describes its study area and does not grant permission for another roof extension.
Local sources checked
These sources describe local building groups and planning context. They do not establish the condition of an individual property.
- Elmbridge: Hersham Companion Guide, April 2012 — HER01 paragraphs 3.5–3.10, HER02 3.25–3.26, HER04 3.31–3.34; printed pages 7, 9
- Elmbridge: Design and Character SPD, replacement notice — Updates: Design Code replaces the 2012 guidance for applications submitted after 6 January 2025
Hersham purchase questions
Is a Level 3 survey the same as a full structural survey?
"Full structural survey" is a legacy search term for a Level 3 Building Survey. A Level 3 Building Survey is a visual, non-intrusive inspection of accessible parts; the written scope defines what is included.
Does a Hersham address identify a particular period of house?
No. Elmbridge’s historical guide distinguishes older cottages, larger Victorian and Edwardian houses, post-war development and later housing within its Hersham study area. Supply the details of the building being purchased, with any construction and alteration records. A nearby period frontage cannot date concealed parts of your property.
What is useful for a flat above a shop near the Green?
Provide the flat’s plan, entrance arrangements and any available lease plan, together with information about the roof and common parts. Identify who can arrange access. Drawings for changes to the premises below can also help define the questions, but the condition survey does not determine legal repair obligations.
Can I use the 2012 Hersham guide to approve an extension?
No. It is used here for historical building context. Elmbridge records that its newer Design Code replaced that guidance for applications submitted after 6 January 2025. Check the current policy, the property’s designations and the proposal itself instead of treating the old guide as an approval.