The design of the new dwellings has to comply with DCLG's nationally described space standards ("Technical housing standards")
which prescribe minimum floor areas and room sizes for new dwellings
(see table). According to this table, the smallest acceptable
development is a '1bed - 1 person unit' which requires a floor area of
39sqm. However when adopting the "Technical housing
standards" Bristol City Council has stipulated that
the minimum acceptable unit is a '1bed - 2person unit' which
necessitates a floor area of at least 50sqm.
In
the case of this particular development, with an existing overall floor
area of 122sqm it would have been impossible to gain planning consent
for 3 units. That's why we considered using the Permitted Development
route. Since 2013 office premises can be converted to residential use, subject
only to local authority prior approval of a limited range of matters –
as opposed to a more ‘traditional’ application for permission being
required. The key difference is that when converting under Permitted Developments, the space standards don't apply. We submitted an application for "prior approval' for the new residential units (showing also refuse and bike storage) and consent was duly granted for 3 units of 45, 35 and 32 sqm respectively.
Having worked on numerous flatted schemes of various sizes, I think that it is possible to design good one-bed apartments from 36-37sqm onward - other considerations such as layout, outlook and amenity will be more important than mere floor area. To set a 50sqm minimum for all new homes means limiting the possibilities for creative solutions in smaller developments; it is all the more illogical when Permitted Developments conversions are not subjected to any space standards at all.
