A mixed-use building in Teddington is set to get an extra flat.

Richmond Council has this week approved a planning application seeking permission for the "Conversion of mixed use property (3 self contained flats plus offices (ancillary to school) ) into four self-contained 1 bed flats, with the installation of 2 communal bins".

The site is a two-storey detached Edwardian building on the northern side of Teddington Park Road. The property was formally in education use.

It obtained consent for 2no. C3 flats on the first floor and a flat on the ground floor in the 1990s and this remains their last consented use. The rear sheds serve as storage for the Newlands House School. The site is in Teddington Village in the Teddington Ward.

The building is designated as a Building of Townscape Merit (BTM).

The submitted documentation indicates that the site has historically been associated with office use linked to the adjacent Newland House School.

Given this context, however, the Council's Policy Officer says it "has reviewed the submission and considers the use to fall within Use Class E(g)(i), and therefore Policy 23 (Offices) would not apply".

The Planning Statement further notes that the modest loss of ancillary office space, which is approximately 45sqm, is considered acceptable by the applicant when weighed against other factors, such as housing provision.

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While it is recognised that the floorspace to be converted is ancillary to the main school and serves an administrative function, it nonetheless represents a loss of social and community infrastructure floorspace.

Thus, "further justification is required", says the Planning Officer.

Drawing of the proposal's for the site's ground and first floors (Credit: Freedom Homes Architects, provided in Richmond Council Planning Applications documents)

The previous use associated with St Catherine's School at 79 Teddington Park Road was ancillary only to the operational running of the school and did not provide any publicly accessible or standalone community facility.

It was not a community venue, hall, sports space, medical space or public drop-in facility. Those administrative functions that were historically accommodated within the building have now been fully consolidated within the main school campus.

Therefore, the space at 79 Teddington Park Road is no longer required for school operations and its loss does not result in the loss of publicly accessible community infrastructure. 

In a planning application document, the Planning Officer said: "The applicant notes that the building was previously a dwellinghouse, and given its domestic layout and scale, the potential for meaningful alternative social infrastructure is inherently limited. 

"In addition, where the building historically contained school staff residential accommodation – continued residential use functions more effectively, more realistically and more deliverable in practice than inserting a completely separate non-school related social infrastructure use (e.g. medical).

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"Therefore, the conversion to four residential units is the most appropriate re-use and satisfies policies."

As per design proposals, no external alterations are proposed. The proposal will therefore not impact the character or significance of the Building of Townscape and Conservation Area. 

The Council's Planning Viability Advisor was instructed to prepare the commuted sum payment calculation. Within the assessment from the Council's Planning Viability Advisor, they have included an appropriate commuted sum using the pro-forma Annex A to the SPD.

In a planning application document, the Planning Officer said: "The Council's Planning Viability Advisor have provided an assessment of current asking prices for 1-bedroom flats within 0.25 miles of the subject site. 

"These asking prices range from £320,000 to £425,000, which equate to between £5,246 to £8,913 per sq m. The average rate is £7,458 per sq m, and with a deduction of 5% to reflect purchaser negotiation, they have adopted an average value of £376,000 for the proposed one-bedroom flats at the subject development, and which has been applied in our commuted sum spreadsheet.

"The Council's current benchmark rent per week for 2025/2026 (reflecting the adopted 2019 Tenancy Strategy) is £130.47 for a 1-bedroom Social Rent unit."

They continued: "On this basis, when including the 16% affordable housing requirement this results in an affordable housing contribution of £117,141. A Viability Assessment has been submitted by the applicant, and this was reviewed by the Council's Planning Viability Advisor who concurred that the scheme was not viable and could not support additional affordable housing or section 106 contribution.

"The scheme can be considered compliant with policy 11 on this basis."

The applicant, Freedom Homes Architects, estimates that the total cost of the proposals will be up to £2m.

The full application can be viewed here.