An appeal hearing over plans to turn part of Hamilton House into flats began this morning (December 9).
The owners of the iconic building in Stokes Croft appealed after Bristol City Council refused to approve their request to convert 27 units into living space.
A Government planning inspector will decide whether the development can go ahead after the virtual appeal hearing and a site visit.
The decision is expected early next year.
An abandoned 1970s office block, Hamilton House has become a much-loved and well-used community and arts hub over the past decade.
The appeal relates to seven applications to reclassify the designated use of a total of 27 units from “class B1 (office)” to “dwellinghouse (Class C3)”.
Owners Connolly and Callaghan (C&C) lodged the applications after the council and a planning inspector blocked its plans to convert part of the premises into 45 flats.
The council refused the new applications for the same reason the original application failed - because the units were not considered to be in lawful B1 office use.
This is a requirement for turning offices into flats under “permitted development” planning law that has been around for several years.
Today’s informal appeal hearing by the Planning Inspectorate is taking place virtually via Microsoft Teams.
At least two previous hearings were cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
