Neighbours have told how the sudden collapse of two homes under renovation in a leafy London suburb left behind a scene ‘like a disaster movie’.
In the latest twist in a long-running planning battle, residents were forced to evacuate their homes amid fears of a gas explosion after the Victorian semi-detached houses were reduced to rubble within seconds.
Disaster struck while builders were constructing a new ‘super basement’ at the £2.2 million homes in Richmond, south-west London.
Residents insisted it was ‘a miracle’ nobody was killed as bricks and flying debris came hurtling through hoardings before crashing down onto the pavement leaving behind from a huge pile of masonry.
The scenes of devastation came after years of complaints about the works which are part of a larger development of the site.
Workers attended the scene today to ensure all electrical sources were safe after the collapse
The incident took place while the houses were believed to be under renovation in Richmond
Police officers, firefighters and paramedics arrived on Lower Mortlake Road after the homes turned into rubble on Tuesday
Police, fire and ambulance crews raced to the scene after the building on Lower Mortlake Road collapsed at around 3pm yesterday.
Describing the drama which unfolded, accountant Martin Perry, 53, said: ‘I heard this horrendous noise. The next moment there was this massive cloud of dust which started travelling towards me. I went downstairs to close all the windows.
‘The scene was absolutely horrendous. When I came out I just couldn’t believe it.
‘They were renovating the houses and the whole thing came crashing down.
‘There were hoardings blocking off the site and a wall behind it. The whole lot came down across the pavement with all the brickwork on top.
‘If anyone had been walking along there they could have been killed. It’s a miracle nobody was seriously hurt.
‘I was going to go out but I got delayed – otherwise I could have been underneath that lot.
‘If it had happened half an hour later all the schoolchildren who come to wait at the bus stop a few yards away would have been walking past. It doesn’t bear thinking about what could have happened.
‘We live on a busy road and the dust was like a heavy fog. It was drifting across the road so the people driving along suddenly couldn’t see anything. It’s amazing there wasn’t a serious accident.
‘The traffic was jammed up then the police arrived and the fire crews. The police were saying that there was a smell of gas – anything could have happened.
Mr Perry, who has lived in the road for 15 years, told how he was one of a number of neighbours who had objected to the development of the site.
Neighbour Lauren Ambrose, 39, said of the drama: ‘One minute there was a house there and the next it was just rubble. It looked like a disaster zone’
Residents were evacuated from nearby homes as emergency services probed a possible gas leak after the collapse
The houses on Lower Mortlake Road in Richmond have all but completely disappeared into piles of rubble
As well as the basement work plans have been approved for a huge building and basement to be constructed alongside the wrecked properties to house 14 new residential flats and studios.
Mr Perry said he believed the plan was to turn the building into a hostel or accommodation for asylum seekers.
He said: ‘This was a disaster waiting to happen.
‘They have been digging out the basements for the two houses that were there. They had cleared out the houses so that they were basically just shells.
‘They removed all the floorboards and the plaster as well. It didn’t look safe what they were doing. You could see the roof was beginning to sag.
‘What they have done here is absolutely disgraceful.
‘I’m so annoyed about this. This has been a long running battle. These old buildings were built in 1880 and were not built to withstand major alterations.
‘There were two planning applications put in which were rejected before a third one was approved.
‘I spoke to a local councillor who said if they had turned down the application a third time the owner would have gone to an appeal and it would have cost the council a lot of money because the general planning policy now is to allow basements.
‘The last application was for a basement and for 14 studio flats to be built. They were going to add another L-shaped building.
‘These properties had been used as houses of multiple occupation for some time.
The properties have been the subject of planning battles for some years
Locals reported the properties affected were undergoing a basement refurbishment before they suddenly crashed into rubble just before 3pm
‘They wanted the basement for the kitchens and other facilities. I suspect they wanted to build a hotel for asylum seekers.’
Another neighbour Lauren Ambrose, 39, said of the drama: ‘One minute there was a house there and the next it was just rubble. It looked like a disaster zone.
‘I heard a big bang – it sounded like there had been an explosion or a car accident. I knew something bad had happened.
‘I came out to investigate. There was this huge cloud of dust. Then I saw the whole place had come crashing down.
‘The police sealed off the area. I was told to leave my house. They were evacuating people from their homes because they were worried about the gas leak.
‘Everyone was worried. Nobody knew what was going on for a while. People were told not to go back into their houses. It was 7pm before they said that it was safe for people to return home.
‘There was a four hour period when they were concerned that there could be an explosion.’
Lauren, who works in business development, said of the construction work: ‘Everyone was pretty disappointed that they were putting so many apartments in here when there is not much space.’
Locals told how the two wrecked homes had previously been used as multiple occupancy houses while former owners had used the rest of the site as a builders yard before a car wash operated from there.
Richmond is one of the capital’s most exclusive areas and is home to celebrities including Sir David Attenborough.
The basements of the properties had been being excavated as part of a development
Firefighters rushed to the scene of the collapse in south-west London yesterday
The site was bought for £2.2 million in September 2018 by a company whose directors included a millionaire property investor who had previously been handed one of the UK’s biggest ever fines for unlawful renovations while building a basement extension.
Maurice Lawee, 69, was fined £45,000 by magistrates in 2015 and ordered to pay £14,000 legal fees after illegally building two conservatories at his historic £4 million home in Hampstead Garden Suburb, north London.
He was accused of doing ‘irreversible damage’ to the Grade II-listed six-bedroomed mansion.
In January 2015, Mr Lawee was ordered to pull down the extensions after being handed the whopping fine which at the time was the third largest issued by magistrates in England.
Willesden magistrates heard Mr Lawee began the building works under the premise of creating an ‘iceberg-home’-style basement extension.
Barnet Council granted him permission to build the basement extension with the installation of a lift, and a garage conversion.
But he ignored repeated pleas from the local council to stop the unauthorised work at his mock Tudor home which he bought for £3.7 million in 2008.
As well as the conservatories, Mr Lawee, who admitted four offences of carrying out unauthorised works, knocked out chimney breasts, the original staircase, alcoves, and doors and damaged historic brickwork at the property which lies within a Conservation Area.
Mr Lawee was one of three directors of Westlake Property Limited when it was incorporated in July 2018 – two months before the collapsed properties were bought.
He resigned the following month on the same day Sandra Lawee, 24, was appointed as a new director.
A third director, hedge fund manager Mayad Rassam, 43, was appointed director in March 2019.
Ms Lawee and Mr Rassam are currently listed at Companies House as being the business’ two active directors.
The remains of the homes which collapsed just before 3pm yesterday
HSE and Fire brigade officials investigate the remains of 47-49 Lower Mortlake Road
One neighbour who lives near the collapsed property told MailOnline how they had raised concerns with the council after renovations led to cracks appearing in the plasterwork at their home.
The neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: ‘I notified Richmond Council last week as we noticed some movement in the area. I realised there was a problem when a number of cracks appeared in my plasterwork.
‘The council said there was nothing they could do. Normally it’s building control who manage sites but because it’s a large site classed as a major development they were allowed to take on independent building control people.
‘It all came crashing down yesterday afternoon.
‘There were two large houses which had been used for years as multiple occupancy.
‘On the same site there was a builders yard which then became a car wash which was rented out.
‘The previous owners had tried numerous times to get planning permission for two extra houses but they did not succeed.
‘The owners then sold the site. The new owners managed to get planning permission and about a year ago they started working on it.
‘They have gone way, way down underneath. The work going on underneath the building has been huge.
‘The whole footprint of the properties is a basement conversion. It’s basically a basement conversion gone wrong.
The scene of devastation on Lower Mortlake Road
‘They haven’t started work on the new property they have permission for. They had apparently almost completed the digging out after work that has been ongoing for a year.
‘It’s caused us huge problems. We don’t know who the owners are – they’re not very receptive at all.
‘They were putting in yoga rooms, kitchens and plant rooms in the basement. They are supposed to be building flats for young people.
‘We’ll have to get the cracks investigated further. We are awaiting for the outcome of the Health and Safety investigation.
‘Potentially we will have to get them to fix our cracks.’
A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade said: ‘Firefighters were called to reports of a building collapse on Lower Mortlake Road in Richmond.
‘Most of two terraced houses under renovation collapsed. There are currently no reports of any injuries.
‘The Brigade was called at 1456 and the incident was over for firefighters at 1711. Two fire engines and a Fire Rescue Unit from Richmond, Acton and Heston fire stations attended the scene.’
A HSE spokesman said: ‘We are aware of this incident and making inquiries.’
A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: ‘We were called at 3.01pm yesterday (10 September) to reports of a building collapse in Lower Mortlake Road, Richmond.
‘We sent an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of our Hazardous Area Response Team to the scene.
‘Fortunately no one was injured.’
MailOnline has attempted to contact the company for comment.
