Beyond the blueprint: cracking prior approval on a complex mixed-use conversion.

Maximising space where none existed.

The building’s geometry fought the conversion at every turn: a deep floorplate leaving central areas far from natural light and air; strict requirements for daylight and residential amenity; and the viability trap — every metre lost to corridors, stairwells and awkward voids eroding the return.

1 · Light before layout

The biggest risk in a deep conversion is dark, unsellable units. We designed enabling works that unlocked the interior — a new, centrally located lightwell and internal courtyards — then pushed habitable rooms up against the new light sources, so every unit met the authority’s daylight and sunlight standards, backed by the technical reports to prove it.

2 · Usable-space dominance

Stairwell, lift shaft and services riser stacked into one compact central core, served by a streamlined single-loaded corridor — cutting communal space by an estimated 15% against a conventional double-loaded layout, and handing that area straight back to the units as net habitable floorspace.

3 · Amenity that works

The flat roof became a professionally landscaped shared terrace with clear, defensible boundaries against noise and overlooking — meeting the amenity test on quality, not just minimum area.

Prior approval is the fast-track, but it demands a planning-led design strategy, not just drawings. Solve daylight, amenity and access before the application and you cut the risk of costly rejection; maximise habitable floorspace and you lock in the margin; design for light and you deliver homes people actually want.

We don’t just submit applications — we architect the outcome.