A Fond Farewell to London's Insane Luxury Mega-Basements

Pity the average London plutocrat searching for a decent home. Britain's premier city may attract the super-wealthy like wasps to a sugar bowl, but from now on residents of many of London’s most expensive neighborhoods will more or less be banned from expanding their houses.

As of this week, Westminster Council (which governs Western Central London’s priciest districts) has vowed to severely restrict construction of what the U.K. media have been referring to as "iceberg homes." The nickname refers to a peculiar new residential expansion model of digging mega-basements in order to skirt around strict zoning rules that prohibit most additions above ground (it's an "iceberg" because what you see above ground is only the tip of a much larger whole). Now, thanks to official disapproval, it seems that this most bizarre of luxury building trends is grinding to a halt.