Office Conversion to Apartments Secured - Without Costly Full Planning Application

We have recently secured consent to convert a redundant two-storey office building into eight apartments in Cubbington, Leamington. By using ‘Class MA’ of the General Permitted Development Order (GPDO), we were able to bypass the need for a full planning application for the conversion, and to avoid the significant associated costs to our client.

Our client’s brief also included improving the building’s appearance and energy performance. To keep planning costs and risks low, we split the project into two applications. First, we submitted a ‘Prior Notification’ under Class MA rules to convert the building into flats, the key point being that this application was for a conversion only, without external changes. Once the residential use was approved, we submitted a second application for external changes, including new windows, façade improvements, and entrance porches.

A single full planning application for both the conversion and the external changes would, perversely, have led to extra costs, such as higher submission fees, ecological surveys, and transport reports. By taking a split approach, we de-risked and saved our client a significant amount of money, with only a matter of weeks added to the project programme.