Completed Projects

Permitted Development
Projects

Real buildings. Real approvals. From a 68-unit former office block in Crawley to a former high street bank in Slough — these are the deals Andrew has taken from initial assessment through to prior approval granted.

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Class MA Slough

High Street

Drawings / Application / Project Support

15 Residential Units
56 Days To Approval
£800k+ Asset Value Uplift
The Building A five-storey former bank with front and rear elevations on Slough High Street.
The Challenge Maximising the number of units with limited light on one side of the building, while retaining lift access for all upper floor units.
The Solution A clever flat layout retained lift access to upper floors. We simultaneously submitted PD applications for multiple layouts on the limited-light side and full planning for additional windows — giving a fallback option without adding wait time.
The Result The window application was approved, allowing the maximum number of units to be created.
Class MA Crawley

Turnpike House

Drawings

68 Residential Units
56 Days To Approval
£5m+ Asset Value Uplift
The Building A former bank head office — six storeys arranged over basement, ground, and four upper floors with a total area of 39,344 sq ft, vacant upon possession.
The Challenge A building of this scale required careful integration of fire strategy from the outset, while using the existing window positions to maximise unit count.
The Solution Fire strategy experts were brought in from day one, ensuring the necessary AOV provision and compartmentalisation was designed in from the beginning rather than retro-fitted.
The Result Approval for 68 units within 56 days, with no sustainability, housing mix, or social housing contributions that would have been required under full planning.
Class MA Portsmouth

Charlotte Street

Drawings / Application

2 Residential Units
54 Days To Approval
£40k Asset Value Uplift
The Building A two-storey retail property on Charlotte Street, close to Portsmouth city centre.
The Challenge A decline in demand for retail units in the area meant the property had little prospect of stable commercial income and a poor return if sold as-is.
The Solution Class MA applications were submitted and approved for conversion to 2 x 2-bed flats.
The Result With approved planning for residential conversion, the building's sale appeal and value increased immediately.
Class MA St Albans

Victoria Street

Drawings / Application

11 Residential Units
55 Days To Approval
£1m Asset Value Uplift
The Building A four-storey Class E building. The ground floor was let to a GP surgery and would remain so; the upper floors were vacant shared office space.
The Challenge A nightclub a few doors down with late-night opening on multiple nights, plus earlier council concerns over available parking for any new residential use.
The Solution Sound testing was carried out across the nightclub's opening hours and mitigation measures identified. These were incorporated into the application alongside a detailed parking plan showing allocation between the existing surgery and new residential units.
The Result Prior approval for 11 x 1-bed flats with allocated car parking shared with the existing surgery.
Class MA Northampton

Weedon Road

Drawings / Application / Project Support

3 Residential Units
56 Days To Approval
£85k Asset Value Uplift
The Building A former bank on Weedon Road, Northampton — a two-storey commercial building with a ground floor banking hall and upper floor office space, vacant upon possession.
The Challenge The upper floor provided limited floor area as it stood. To maximise the number and size of the residential units, additional space was needed — but this had to be pursued alongside the PD application rather than after it.
The Solution A Class MA prior approval application was submitted for the change of use from commercial to 3 residential flats. In parallel, a full planning application was submitted for a rear dormer extension to increase the usable floor area on the upper level — running both applications simultaneously to avoid adding time to the programme.
The Result Prior approval granted for 3 flats within 56 days. The dormer planning permission was also approved, adding floor area and increasing the overall value of the converted building.
Class MA Full Planning Crawley

Gainsborough House

Drawings / Discharge of Conditions / Project Support

34 Residential Units
2 Phases
56 Days Phase 2 PD Approval
The Building A large former office building in Crawley, originally planned for conversion to 35 residential units across two phases — 24 units under Class MA in Phase 1 and 11 units in Phase 2. The project also included full planning for subdividing the ground floor commercial space into smaller units.
The Challenge Phase 1 was already in construction when it was discovered that a pre-commencement condition had not been discharged — rendering the permitted development consent invalid. Full planning had to be sought to regularise the works, resulting in one unit being lost and Phase 1 reducing to 23 units. The original drawings had been produced by hand by an architect who had since retired, with no digital files left to work from.
The Solution PWA was brought in to redraw the entire Phase 1 scheme from scratch in digital format — accurate, scalable drawings that could be updated as the project evolved. The full planning application was managed through a separate planning consultancy. PWA handled the subsequent discharge of planning conditions, co-ordinated the required reports, and managed the council contribution process. Phase 2 was then progressed under Class MA with PWA producing the drawings and managing the prior approval application.
The Result 34 units delivered across both phases. The full planning route for Phase 1 required additional 2-bed units to satisfy planning policy, reducing the total by one from the original 35. All conditions discharged; Phase 2 approved under permitted development within 56 days.

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