Conversions
Many of my clients are professional developers and investors who purchase buildings for conversion to residential uses. Completed projects include the conversion of a Georgian building into 14 studio apartments for students; conversion of a former public house into ten one-and-two-bedroom apartments; conversion of a former hotel to six two-bedroom apartments; conversion of a former office (originally a Victorian villa) to ten apartments; conversion of a former pub to eight one-bedroom apartments; and conversion of a former medical centre eight one-bedroom apartments for elderly residents. The last project was nominated for an LABC Building Excellence Award by Ashfield District Council Building Control and reached the regional finals in July 2018.
Planning consent is usually required in order to convert a building to a residential use. If the building is in a conservation area, then conservation area consent may be required. Listed Buildings will ALWAYS require consent for any work carried out on them, including a change of use. Building Regulations consent is always required for conversion work.
Case Study: Sherwood - conversion of an office to ten apartments
My clients purchased a three-storey Victorian villa that had been converted to offices in or around the 1980's, at which time a single-storey rear extension was also constructed. The property retained its original two-storey coach-house at the rear and sunken garden at the front.
The site is within the Sherwood Conservation area, characterised by villas with large gardens and mature trees, and is built up on a hill with views towards the city centre. The front gardens of all these villas stepped down to the road and this lower garden area had previously been converted to a car park for use by the office so we were able to retain this area to provide more-than adequate parking for the new apartments.