Derelict buildings at a Victorian waterworks in Hampton will be converted into 36 homes and offices, after lying empty for more than six years.

Richmond Council has approved plans to restore and extend the Karslake and Ruston and Ward buildings at Hampton Water Treatment Works.

The scheme from developer Waterfall Planning Ltd will see the two Grade II listed buildings, on Upper Sunbury Road, converted into 36 flats – including two social homes – and offices or co-working space for up to 40 people.

Lib Dem council leader Gareth Roberts endorsed the scheme on behalf of Hampton's councillors at a planning meeting on Wednesday night (July 15).

He said works needed to start urgently, as he claimed the developer had left the buildings to "rot" since the council refused its previous plans to redevelop them over a lack of affordable housing.

Councillor Roberts said: "This has caused immense distress to the people neighbouring the property… they've had to put up with falling glass in their front garden, they've had to put up with general dilapidation of the property next to them."

He called for the scheme to be approved so neighbours "no longer have to put up with this absolute eyesore on their doorstep, and the residents of Hampton no longer have to run the risk of losing a significant heritage asset".

The council rejected the developer's plans to convert the buildings into 37 homes – none being affordable – and offices in 2021.

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Karen Jones, planning consultant for the project, said the revised scheme created "a legacy for both existing and future residents, seeking to achieve the highest possible level of compliance with planning policy… while balancing this against the need to preserve as much of the site's historic fabric as possible".

She said the development would deliver "significant and lasting public benefits" – including the restoration of the listed buildings to secure their long-term future.

The buildings formed part of the 1850s waterworks complex, operated by Thames Water, before the company sold the buildings in 2017. They have been empty since 2019.

Planning documents said: "The proposal reconnects the Waterworks buildings with Hampton village, bringing life back to a historic and prominent site that is currently derelict and empty."