Record Associates have recently submitted a planning application for the residential conversion of Wesley House, a former Primitive Methodist Chapel into 12 apartments.
Planning permission had already been granted for the conversion of the property into 10 apartments, but the approved designs were poorly conceived and access to each of the apartments was somewhat chaotic. No access could be obtained to two of the apartments! No, that is not a joke!
There were also several access points to the property and no disabled access was provided. Furthermore, no lift access was also provided so access to the upper floor accommodation would also have been arduous with anything other than a small bag.
This is a common issue we encounter where designs are quickly and inexpensively pulled together in order to ‘bag a planning consent’ so the property may then be sold at a high value. For this reason, the designs are often flawed so further development work and risk is involved. Undertaking careful due diligence is vitally important.
Record Associates were initially appointed to undertake a Level 3 Building Survey of the property to assess the condition of the premises prior to acquisition. This revealed extensive dry rot throughout the ground floor accommodation and the issues with the approved scheme.
Record Associates were then appointed to provide architectural design services and redesign the apartments to address the access issues and increase the number of units from 10 to 12 units which extend to approximately 780 sq.m.
In response to the brief, we have radically changed the access arrangements so there is now access to all the apartments from a central stair and lift core. This core will provide full access for the disabled, elderly, families and residents and with heavy bags! and will be accessible from the rear car park at ‘ground’ level as well as off the main road at ‘first’ floor level.
The proposed scheme is now a significant improvement on the previously approved scheme and trust this will be approved so the building can be brought back into use.
The planning documents can be accessed via the link below.
If you would like to arrange a building survey or discuss any projects then please get in touch with Julian Record and we’d be delighted to help.