Planning the Westcombe Park purchase survey
Westcombe Park’s appraisal describes several groups of late-Victorian houses with different rooflines, verandahs and bay arrangements. The slope and street pattern also affect where elevations can be viewed. For a Level 3 purchase enquiry, identify the actual building and any subdivision into flats. These local examples help focus questions on access and alterations, while current condition must be established at the instructed property.
Coleraine Road verandahs: separate the decorative frontage from the whole house
Greenwich’s appraisal identifies three-storey paired gabled villas at 123–125 and 130–136 Coleraine Road, with verandahs and ornamental ironwork. It also records gabled dormers, decorative bargeboards and stucco bays in that group. Those named details should not be applied to every property along the road.
If the purchase includes a verandah or balcony-like external feature, locate it on the plan and ask what access is available. Request records for repairs, replacement supports and alterations to doors or windows opening onto it. Identify the roof and eaves above separately from the entrance detail below. A frontage photograph may show the architectural arrangement without revealing concealed connections or the extent of previous work. The report should make clear which components were approached, which were viewed from a distance and where further evidence is needed, rather than treating the appearance of a repeated feature as proof of sound condition.
60–78 Coleraine Road: paired doors and datestones are only part of the evidence
The appraisal distinguishes the two-storey group at 60–78 Coleraine Road, with paired doorways and terracotta dates of 1897 or 1898, from the taller villas nearby. A datestone is a useful historical marker, but it cannot date every extension, roof change or internal alteration in the building behind it.
Provide the current floor plan and identify whether the property remains a house or contains separately occupied accommodation. Ask for records of changed staircases, removed walls and rear additions. If two entrances sit together, establish which door leads to the purchased rooms and whether any passage or hall is shared. Confirm access to the relevant roof space instead of assuming it can be reached from the upper floor. The survey brief should combine the particular street-facing group with the actual modern arrangement, so historical context does not conceal a later conversion or leave part of the purchase unidentified.
Ulundi Road: compare the roof and bay form at the purchased address
Greenwich records Ulundi Road as a late-Victorian street developed between 1882 and 1900, containing paired, terraced and detached villas. Its material and detail list includes both single-storey and double-height bays, gables and varied roof finishes. This is a range of features, not a checklist guaranteed at every house.
Use the sales photographs to identify the bought property’s bay, porch and roof outline, then request plans for later changes. Ask which upper surfaces can be viewed and whether internal finishes prevent inspection of the corresponding structure. For a house with a side extension, show how its roof meets the earlier building. For a flat, identify which parts of the external envelope relate to the accommodation and who holds maintenance records. Any comment on condition should be tied to the actual feature and available evidence, rather than borrowed from the appraisal’s description of a different house in the same street.
The sloping street pattern: plan access to rear and lower elevations
The appraisal identifies Westcombe Park Road as the higher part of the study area and describes streets responding to the slope. It also records the varied development along roads such as Coleraine Road. That topographic context helps explain viewing arrangements, but does not establish movement or drainage behaviour at a property.
Mark lower rooms, external steps and changes in garden level on the plan. Ask the agent which side and rear routes can be used, especially where another occupier controls a gate. A wall visible from a downhill street may still be inaccessible for closer inspection. Supply records for changes to external levels or lower-ground accommodation where relevant. Check current council information for the address’s designations and alteration history; the character appraisal is not a permission record. The report should separate the setting, the accessible observations and any unanswered property-specific question requiring further documentation or investigation.
Local sources checked
These sources describe local building groups and planning context. They do not establish the condition of an individual property.
- Greenwich: Westcombe Park Conservation Area Character Appraisal — Topography; Coleraine Road and Ulundi Road building groups; printed/PDF pages 8, 27–29, 44
Westcombe Park 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.
Can a Coleraine Road datestone confirm the age of all the accommodation?
It identifies a historical feature of the frontage, not the date of every room or structural element. Ask for the property’s own alteration and conversion records. The current plan should distinguish rear additions, roof rooms and any subdivision, so the survey can address the building actually being purchased.
Why identify a verandah separately in the enquiry?
The verandah, its supports and the adjoining doors or windows may have their own repair history and access limits. Provide available records and confirm where the surveyor can view or approach it. A photograph or appraisal description shows the arrangement, but cannot establish the present condition of concealed connections.
Does a sloping Westcombe Park site indicate structural movement?
The slope is part of the local setting and is not a diagnosis. Identify any actual concern and provide relevant reports or repair history. The survey should assess the accessible evidence at the property and explain its limitations, rather than infer movement from the street’s topography or a nearby building’s condition.