Change of use from offices to homes is approved

Anglo-Saxons Hall provided offices for the Anglo-Saxons Friendly Society, now known as Gravesham Friendly. Friendly societies, which are insurers structured as a mutual organisation, have been around for hundreds of years. Now Gravesham Friendly have moved to new offices, leaving the hall vacant.

Working closely with our client and our planning consultant, we have secured planning permission to redevelop the building as two self-contained one-bedroom flats and a House of Multiple Occupation (HMO) for 10 residents.

The building’s basement had a very low head height of less than 2m. We have developed a technical solution which involves lowering the basement slab without costly underpinning, together with raising the ground floor deck to create a head height of just over 2.2m.

Combined with refurbished pavement lights and glazed doors and windows to a sunken basement courtyard, this improved and naturally lit space will now provide a communal area with good amenity for the residents. This enables the development of an HMO with more than six rooms.

The building will be completely remodelled internally, incorporating a new rear extension and an efficient staircase layout that allows four rooms to be installed on each floor.

Unlocking the value contained in the basement and maximising the number of rooms per floor makes this project viable. A management plan for the HMO is included in the planning application.

The site sits within The King Street Conservation Area. The striking front elevation, with its late ‘arts and crafts’ appearance, will be retained. The existing uPVC windows will be replaced with conservation timber sash windows to reflect the period of the house and improve the street front.

This project fits within Gravesham Council’s Local Plan Core Strategy and Policies objective to make the most efficient use of land by concentrating development on under-used, derelict and previously developed land in the urban area of Gravesend and Northfleet for reuse as new dwellings.