The housing stock in Islington
Georgian terraces around the squares, Victorian terraces and warehouse conversions off the canal.
Islington's Georgian and early Victorian townhouse stock is some of the finest in London. Delivery in Canonbury, Barnsbury and around Duncan Terrace means running work under LB Islington's conservation controls, protecting original joinery and cornicing, and coordinating tightly with neighbours on narrow streets. Our directly employed teams work here throughout the year.
Most of our Islington instructions come from owners of canonbury square and de beauvoir georgian townhouses, barnsbury and thornhill square terraces, duncan terrace and colebrooke row houses, and from clients moving between Highbury, Barnsbury, Canonbury, Clerkenwell who already know the type of building they are buying into.
Planning and consent with the London Borough of Islington
Canonbury, Barnsbury and the squares around Upper Street are conservation areas, and Article 4 directions remove permitted development rights across much of the borough.
Islington enforces conservation policy firmly, particularly on front elevations, windows and roof extensions visible from the street.
Our approach is the same every time: establish the constraints before anything is designed, agree the route to consent with the client, and price the job against the scheme that will actually be approved rather than the one that looks best on a first sketch.
The work we carry out in Islington
The bulk of our Islington work is rear extensions, basement lowering and underpinning, full refurbishment and loft conversions to the rear.
Georgian townhouse refurbishment. Four and five-storey townhouse refurbishment with original detailing preserved and modern services fully upgraded.
Rear and lower-ground extensions. Glazed rear extensions and lower-ground reconfiguration designed to sit inside LB Islington's conservation rules.
Basement and lightwell. Underpinning and lightwell excavation on tight terrace footprints, coordinated with party-wall surveyor and structural engineer.
Access, neighbours and running a tidy site
Front access only on most terraces and permanent controlled parking. Permits are arranged before the programme is set.
Every trade on a Islington project is directly employed by Ushii. There is no chain of outside firms to chase, no pricing surprises when a trade turns up, and one team responsible for the work from strip-out to snagging.
Realistic programmes in Islington
Five to nine months for a terrace refurbishment, longer with a basement.
Those figures assume consent is in place and decisions are made when they are asked for. The single biggest cause of delay on prime London projects is not construction, it is a client decision waiting on a specification that was never finalised. We front-load those choices into the programme so they are made calmly rather than under pressure.
Talk to us about your Islington project
If you are planning work on a property in Islington or nearby in Highbury, Barnsbury, Canonbury, Clerkenwell, the useful first step is a site visit. We will walk the building, tell you what the council is likely to want, and give you an honest view of cost and programme before you commit to drawings.
Get in touch through the contact page and a director will arrange to meet you at the property.