Spitalfields is characterised by georgian listed townhouses, concentrated across E1 in the
Whitechapel / Spitalfields area. On Spitalfields streets the georgian listed townhouses sets the structural grammar for everything that follows. The Spitalfields version of that is simple: georgian rear elevations here are usually the listed or locally listed face of the building, so a glazed link and a lightweight rear addition tend to fare better than a full-width box. On the georgian listed townhouses in Spitalfields it sets the beam run. London Borough of Tower Hamlets officers compare a E1 scheme to the block it sits in, not to a policy number.
No borough-specific basement policy applies in Tower Hamlets, so subterranean work at a Spitalfields address is judged on amenity, drainage and structural grounds. One visit to the Spitalfields address covers building regulations drawings for E1 properties and loft conversion drawings too.
What the Spitalfields drawing pack contains
For a E1 address the deliverables are fixed, not open-ended.
- existing and proposed ground-floor plans for the Spitalfields property
- proposed rear elevation
- long section through the extension
- site and block plans
- party wall position drawing
Streets and landmarks we survey around Spitalfields
- Fournier Street — side returns where the 45-degree amenity test decides how far a Fournier Street extension goes.
- Whitechapel High Street — terraced rear elevations — the Whitechapel High Street party wall position is drawn first.
- Henriques Street — side returns where the 45-degree amenity test decides how far a Henriques Street extension goes.
- Hanbury Street — closet wings that change how a rear extension meets the Hanbury Street back addition.
- Brick Lane — front-to-back level changes that drive the Brick Lane section drawings.
- Commercial Street — side returns where the 45-degree amenity test decides how far a Commercial Street extension goes.
- Ermine Street — gardens deep enough for the 8 weeks householder route on a Ermine Street plot.
- Bethnal Green — front-to-back level changes that drive the Bethnal Green section drawings.
- Old Spitalfields Market — schemes in view of it attract closer officer scrutiny.
- Brick Lane — proposals in its setting are drawn with the Spitalfields context elevation.
- Petticoat Lane Market — a Spitalfields roof extension is judged against the datum it sets.
- New Spitalfields Market — proposals in its setting are drawn with the Spitalfields context elevation.
- Old Spitalfields Market — schemes in view of it attract closer officer scrutiny.
- Brick Lane Market — Tower Hamlets Council weighs E1 sightlines to it in the character assessment.
Getting to a Spitalfields survey
Surveyors travel to E1 addresses from the studio; the nearest stations are
Bishopsgate (Low Level), Shoreditch, Liverpool Street station, Aldgate East. Appointments are booked in Spitalfields on weekdays and Saturdays,
and the measured survey of a standard georgian listed townhouses takes two to three hours.
Where Spitalfields sits
on Ordnance Survey grid reference TQ335815. London Borough of Tower Hamlets validates the E1 address against exactly that position. Source.
Practical detail for a Spitalfields submission: surveyors travel in through Bishopsgate (Low Level) and Shoreditch and Liverpool Street station and Aldgate East; the Spitalfields post town is LONDON; dialling code 020. Site plans are drawn to the address as Tower Hamlets Council holds it.
Spitalfields postcode coverage
Surveys run across E1 (Whitechapel / Spitalfields), shared with Shoreditch, Whitechapel, Mile End, Shadwell throughout Tower Hamlets.
Streets and stations in Spitalfields
The Spitalfields streets on our books include Fournier Street, Whitechapel High Street, Henriques Street, Hanbury Street, Brick Lane, Commercial Street, Ermine Street and Bethnal Green. most Spitalfields sites are within walking distance of Bishopsgate (Low Level) or Shoreditch or Liverpool Street station.
Areas we cover around Spitalfields
The surrounding patch — Shoreditch (E1, E2, EC2A), Hackney Central (E8), London Fields (E8), Clapton (E5), Homerton (E9), Hackney Wick (E9) — is drawn by the same team, though each street answers to its own designation.
