Track record

Keynsham Riverside, Temple Street, Keynsham, Somerset

Party Walls

Service

Retail & Leisure

Industry

The project

Bath & Northeast Somerset Council had two large retail units on Temple Street in Keynsham, a town situated between Bristol and Bath. Attempts to let these properties had been unsuccessful but a demand for smaller premises within the locality led to the requirement for the subdivision of the units into several smaller ones.

Input was needed as to whether the proposed subdivision works would trigger the provisions of the Party Wall etc Act 1996.

If this was the case, then an experienced Party Wall consultant would be needed given the potential for multiple Adjoining Owners in the residential flats above the retail units.

The proposed works were planned to commence in early July of 2025 and Rapleys were initially contacted in mid March 2025. Given the project could involve multiple parties and the serving of Party Structure notices (meaning a two month notice period), time was of the essence to progress with matters.

Partner & Head of Neighbourly Matters – Building Consultancy

Dan Tapscott

Thank you, we very much appreciated all your efforts on the project – Council Project Manager on this scheme

Our solution

Rapleys suggested meeting with the project team on site initially (prior to appointment) in order to get a better understanding of the client’s requirements and to gain familiarity with the buildings involved.

The proposals did indeed mean the works were notifiable in nature, with the connection of new party walls (to divide up the units), fixed into the underside of the first-floor slab, which was a party structure itself.

We undertook HM Land Registry searches and identified 17 relevant interests requiring notification.

Our recommended strategy was to serve notice offering the undertaking of a photographic Schedule of Condition no matter the outcome of the notice. In our experience, this can often encourage an Adjoining Owner to consent and thereby ensure that professional fees are kept to a minimum whilst providing a level of comfort to both parties.

The outcome was 11 of the owners consented (65%), 3 concurred in the appointment of Dan Tapscott as the Agreed Surveyor and 3 did not respond. Here we arranged for the appointment of a surveyor to act on the owner’s behalf. All agreements were put in place in good time enabling the project to proceed.