
Basement swimming pools in Marylebone.
Knightsbridge · SW1 · Knightsbridge townhouse, pool and wine roomCompleted work, photograph
A Marylebone pool needs a whole house or a mews, not one flat. Westminster’s Policy 50 sets the single storey.
Where a Marylebone pool can actually go.
- Policy 50
- One storey below the lowest original floor
- 4 metres
- The reach under a garden of 8 metres or less
- Freehold
- A pool needs the building, not one flat
NU Projects is a design and build company in Fulham SW6, founded in 2010. We handle basement swimming pools in Marylebone W1, under one contract. A new basement dig typically runs £500k to £900k. Converting an existing basement runs £180k to £300k. Call 020 7731 6841, and a budget estimate typically follows within seven days.
Most Marylebone terraces sit above shops and are split into apartments. A pool cannot hang beneath one flat. It needs the freehold of a whole house or a mews. That narrows the field before any drawing starts.
Westminster’s Policy 50 permits a single storey under the lowest original floor. The pool tank must fit inside that storey, with its plant beside it. Gardens here are short. A garden of 8 metres or less allows a 4 metre reach.
The pool hall needs fresh air, and so does its plant room. In a terrace those ducts must surface somewhere discreet. We trace that route through the house before we size the tank. Sewer flooding is guarded against with a pumped device and sustainable drainage.
Our Marylebone work is a listed apartment, kept with its period fabric. Our nearest pool is in Knightsbridge, lined in marble. One team engineers, prices and builds the whole thing.
What the council allows in Marylebone.
- Council
- City of Westminster. Its City Plan, January 2026 edition, holds the basement rule.
- Depth
- Policy 50. One storey below the lowest original floor, the pool tank included.
- Short gardens
- Gardens of 8 metres or less may be dug 4 metres out.
- Garden cover
- A metre of soil and a 200mm drainage layer over any garden section.
- Listed houses
- The basement must not unbalance the original hierarchy of spaces above it.
- Permission
- A citywide Article 4 direction has removed basement permitted development since July 2016.
Source: Westminster’s City Plan, January 2026 edition, Policy 50. Read on 16 October 2026. Policies change, so we read them again for your address.
A pool nearby, and our Marylebone work.

Knightsbridge·Townhouse
Knightsbridge townhouse, pool and wine room
Nearby in Knightsbridge SW1: a townhouse with a marble lined pool, built by NU.
See the project
Marylebone·Apartment
Marylebone listed apartment
In Marylebone W1: a listed apartment we renovated, its period fabric kept.
See the projectCompleted work, photographs
What a basement pool costs in Marylebone.
£180k to £300kConverting an existing basement. A project total, from our 2026 cost guide.
£500k to £900k+Digging a new basement. A project total, from our 2026 cost guide.
A Marylebone pool usually sits at the new dig figure.
Both figures are project totals. Fees, contingency and VAT are extra.
What Marylebone owners ask about pools.
In Marylebone
- Every service in Marylebone, Bayswater and Maida Vale
- Basement construction in Marylebone
- Basement gyms in Marylebone
- Basement cinema rooms in Marylebone
- Design and build in Marylebone
Pools nearby
- Basement swimming pools across London
- Basement swimming pools in Chelsea
- Basement swimming pools in Kensington
- Basement swimming pools in South Kensington
- Basement swimming pools in Holland Park
- Basement swimming pools in Notting Hill
- Basement swimming pools in Knightsbridge
- Basement swimming pools in Belgravia
- Basement swimming pools in Mayfair
- Basement swimming pools in St John’s Wood
- Basement swimming pools in Hampstead
- Basement swimming pools in Fulham
- Basement swimming pools in Weybridge
- Basement swimming pools in Cobham
- Basement swimming pools in Oxshott
- Basement swimming pools in Highgate
- Basement swimming pools in Primrose Hill
- Basement swimming pools in Earl’s Court
- Basement swimming pools in Pimlico
- Basement swimming pools in Westminster
- Mayfair
- Hampstead and St John’s Wood
- Fitzrovia and Bloomsbury
Further reading, from the blog
Can a Marylebone apartment owner build a basement pool?
Not alone. Work below the building is the freeholder’s decision.
A whole house or a mews is the realistic starting point.
How far under a short Marylebone garden can a pool reach?
Gardens of 8 metres or less allow a 4 metre reach.
The pool and its plant must share that space.
Where does the plant go for a Marylebone pool?
In its own room beside the pool hall, inside the one storey.
We plan the duct route out of the house first.
Does a listed Marylebone house rule out a pool?
Not by itself, under Policy 50.
The original hierarchy of rooms above must stay in balance.
Tell us about your home in Marylebone.
Your name and one way to reply are enough. It goes straight to the studio.
- Already have an architect or designer? We build to their design. Working with your designer
- An NDA on request, and your home is never published without your consent. How we work in confidence