This is a building within walking distance of Tonbridge High Street, in Kent. The ground floor was in retail use, with a flat above, leaving the building in a mixed-use state.
The client wanted to bring the ground floor into residential use, converting the retail unit into a home, and to improve the property with a single-storey rear extension and a new porch.
A change of use from retail to residential falls outside permitted development, so a full planning application to Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council was required. The scheme needed to provide well-proportioned residential accommodation and to sit comfortably with the character of the surrounding area.
I prepared and submitted the full application covering the change of use, the rear extension and the new porch, arranging the ground floor to work as a comfortable home while integrating the new rear addition with the existing building.
Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council granted planning permission. I then carried the project forward to the next stage and successfully obtained Building Regulations approval, completing the statutory approvals needed to take the scheme to site.
The design
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I reworked the ground floor of the former retail unit into a home, setting out a lounge, an open kitchen and dining area and two new bedrooms, with a new side porch and parking and a new side gate to the rear garden.
I designed the new roof over the extension to match the existing building, keeping the roof tiles and lines in keeping with the original property.