The office isn’t dead!
SFP are pleased to have assisted our Client and PAPA Architects in achieving planning permission from Hertsmere Borough Council for extensions and improvements to their office building in Potters Bar.
The recently approved proposals involve extending the roof of the existing building to create two floors for office use as well as a small extension at ground floor level. This would result in an additional 210sqm of additional office floor space (Class E) for our Client.
The scheme also provided benefits in that the premises is proposed to be reclad with facing bricks to the ground floor front elevation and powder coated aluminium cladding to the 1st floor to improve its appearance and give the building a facelift.
The property is in close proximity to Potters Bar station and maybe part of a growing trend for the intensification of employment uses around transport hubs in outer London and the wider south-east region following a shift in normal commuting and working patters. We also worked alongside EAS Transport Planning to demonstrate the scheme was entirely acceptable in transportation terms.
Our Planning Statement highlighted that at a national level, the NPPF and more specifically Paragraph 81 emphasises planning policies and decisions should help create the conditions in which businesses can invest, expand and adapt. We put forward an argument that significant weight should be placed on these proposals since the scheme supports economic growth and productivity including boosting local businesses through local construction jobs as well as additional office floor space to support Potters Bar town centre.
Hertsmere Borough Council concluded the proposed office use was considered to be appropriate and compatible within a Town Centre and Station Close Employment Area as well as being in line with the development plan and approved the scheme, with minimal planning conditions, following negotiations.
Should you require help with gaining planning permission for something similar or for any project, large or small, then please contact us now: info@sfplanning.co.uk or call our London office on 020 3763 8005.
