They emerged as a novel way for the rich and famous to expand their homes, but now “mega basements” are set to be outlawed in one of Britain’s wealthiest areas.

The London borough of Kensington and Chelsea has become the first local authority in the country to introduce restrictions on the subterranean developments, which have led to the creation of “iceberg homes”, with the extra space earmarked to accommodate private cinemas, spas and swimming pools.

In 2001 there were 46 planning applications for basement developments in the borough, rising to 450 last year.

The council said they have also increased in size, with two and three-storey basements not uncommon.

Now after a two-year process, the council has announced that a government planning inspector has given the green light to its proposals to curb the scale of developments.

Basement extensions will still be permitted but the new rules will restrict how far they can stretch under a garden, limit them to a single storey in most cases and ban developments under listed buildings altogether.

Council cabinet member for planning policy Tim Coleridge said: “Basements have been the single greatest planning concern our residents have expressed to us in living memory. Many have experienced years of misery from noise, vibration, dust and construction traffic.

“Two years ago we started drafting a policy to try and strike the right balance between addressing our residents’ concerns and the genuine need for people to expand their homes.

“This ruling is a victory not only for the council but also our residents who have been overwhelmingly supportive of what we have been trying to do.”

The new guidelines are set to be formally adopted at the next full council meeting in January.