Gayhurst Court.

Berrys were instructed as planning agents and heritage consultants for the loft conversion and internal reconfiguration of a flat within Gayhurst Court.

How We Approached The Project

As a Grade I listed building undergoing a proposed material change, Listed Building Consent was required and would feature prominently in the application process.

The flat was historically renovated to such an extent that there were very few surviving features of historic value. It was therefore possible to see the practical rearrangement of the spaces as removal of unsympathetic alterations returning to a more historically relevant open form; research into the uses of the wing identified its original purpose as a family dwelling.

As with other projects in which multiple-phase historic development have affected the overall form of the asset we found it incredibly useful to visually map the building and research the original social arrangement of the house. This allows us to critically examine the benefits of the internal reconfiguration, and how a return to original form would provide strong mitigation and undo some of the harm made in the conversion of the building into flats in the 1970s.

How We Achieved The Project

With a carefully considered Heritage Impact Assessment, incorporating the identification of assets, policy reviews, desk-based research, identifying significance and analysing the impact of the proposal, Berrys were able to support the client in achieving a positive outcome, whilst ensuring the sustainable use of a highly valuable heritage asset.