Ladymead - more Housing?

Offices to be converted to Flats.

The building currently used by Allianz is subject to a prior notification (24/W/00044) to turn the building into flats.  This application doesn’t impact the exterior of the building and will provide 131 Flats on the second to fourth floors.  The Ground Floor would be preserved as Office Accommodation.  This would provide 131 residential units, comprising 122 x one-bed and 9 x two-bed flats. The existing ground floor (3,260sqm) will be retained as office space, plus 221sqm of additional office space on the upper floors. As such, a total of 3,481sqm of floorspace will be retained as office space.

A second option is presented with the ground floor converted to flats and the floors above retained as office accommodation (23/W/00045). This would provide 48 residential units, with the upper floors are retained as office, providing 7,856sqm..

This dual approach is detailed on page 2 of the Transport Statement.   We note the word assumed for the retention of offices on the upper floors in option 2.  Obviously the whole building could be converted to Dwelling space.

Flooding

The building is in a flood Zone but is constructed so the ground floor is above the highest expected flood level.  How residents could be removed from the building in the event of a flood is not detailed.

Employment

The conversion of this relatively modern office building impacts employment space in Guildford.  It is a challenge for Guildford to attract employers to the town, reducing available office space needs to be considered carefully.