Approval for conversion of charity’s former head office

Planning permission has been secured for the conversion of a charity’s former head office in Oxford for residential use.National property consultancy Carter Jonas has secured planning consent on behalf of the William Rowan Hamilton Trust (Hamilton Trust), an educational charity that supports primary teachers, primary and pre-school children mainly through web-based dissemination of the Trust’s teaching materials and resources.The planning consent, achieved under Permitted Development Rights, concerns the Trust’s former office on Howard Street. It allows for the change of use from commercial to residential to create two flats.Hamilton Trust has transferred its operations and website to Oxford Brookes University, with its staff also transferring to Brookes. As a result, the office was no longer needed and was sold earlier this month to a developer for conversion into flats.Huw Mellor, partner, planning and development at Carter Jonas Oxford, said: “We are extremely pleased to have achieved planning consent on behalf of the Hamilton Trust, which provides important educational support. The Trust will benefit from its new location at Oxford Brookes University, while the conversion into homes is a small step towards providing much needed housing in Oxford.”Mike O’Regan, chair of William Rowan Hamilton Trust, added: “We were pleased to follow the advice of Carter Jonas that we could realise more funds for the charity if we achieved planning consent for change of use before marketing the property. This proved to be the case and the whole process was smooth and successful.”