In Finsbury Park, North London, a row of identikit homes built by housing associations line one side of the congested Seven Sisters Road. All the flats come with balconies, overlooking a polluted thoroughfare, choked with traffic. In a setting such as this, who would want this type of outdoor space?

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, for one. He states in his draft London Housing Design Guide, closed to public consultation at the end of last month, that all developments receiving any form of public subsidy must have a balcony. The plan is to start with social housing, but the expectation is that private developers will follow suit.

While providing private outside space for everyone is a laudable aspiration, there are those that take issue with the blanket approach.

“You can’t argue with the principle,” says Dominic Grace, head of residential investment and development at Savills, “but the reality of developers having to slavishly add a balcony on every site is questionable. I feel that lots of these balconies will end up being used as storage spaces for old bikes and broken washing machines, which is unsightly.”

Ian Marris, a partner at Knight Frank London residential development, agrees saying many buildings don’t suit balconies as a standard addition. “With tall buildings, or ones beside a busy road, for example, I’d argue that a winter garden would be better for residents, something they can use all year round. While it is an ideologically sound idea it seems to have been conceived in a vacuum.”

The Greater London Authority (GLA) said it would be up to landlords — and presumably the developers — to avoid balconies becoming dumping grounds for clutter.

The addition of a balcony is a “general presumption”, it says, but it will allow for exceptions, providing a suitable alternative is provided, and in these cases it would be a matter for the local planning authority.

Planning departments are very pro-balconies, however, and have been for a while, according to Grace. “This housing guide is really nothing new.”

What has taken everyone by surprise is the size of the proposed balconies. According to the Design Guide, all balconies will be no less than 1.5m deep, which allows space for drying clothes or a meal around a small table. Token outside spaces — more romantically termed Juliet balconies — will not be tolerated.

“New housing should not be poky,” Grace said, “but 1.5m of balcony will have a serious impact on architecture and building facades, and will have consequences on shading for apartments below.”

The GLA states it has tested the design standard it is asking developers to meet. “The drafting process was subject to extensive discussion with industry professionals,” a spokesman said. “Our proposals are robust.”

The housing association Network Housing Group — one of the developers that will be immediately affected by the mayor’s plans — is in favour of the vision of outside space for all.

“On the whole our residents do want balconies,” the association’s assistant development director Elaine Parker said. “We are now building in denser urban situations, and it’s important to have somewhere you can open your doors and have a cup of tea in the fresh air. Even if you live in a block overlooking a busy road, where you might not want to linger outside, you still might want somewhere to have plants.”

The skill, she said, is to design balconies so that if, people want to store items then it’s not unsightly – the Network Housing Group uses opaque glass and screens to achieve this.

And there are more natural ways to do this, too. Isabelle Palmer, the founder of The Balcony Gardener, a website that provides balcony-owners with ready-made gardens, suggests planting climbers, such as hydrangeas, which will fend off nasty fumes and give your outside space a lovely aroma. Timber screens can cover railings and reduce noise, and tall screening plants shield your little slice of the great outdoors from the urban world.

Make the space work

Plant a herb garden: those new to gardening should start with mint, chives, rosemary and parsley. Progress to vegetables by planting tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, aubergines, beans, potatoes and strawberries — all will thrive with enough sun

Create a mini-pond: if you have the space, use an old tin bath or a pot to grow miniature water lilies — you can even introduce fish

Add sculpture or art: look for heavy pieces that can endure the elements and high winds

thebalconygardener.com

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