Plans to turn an old council headquarters in Kingston into 292 new flats have been approved by the local authority. It means Surrey County Council's former headquarters on Penrhyn Road, Kingston, could soon be transformed after lying empty since early 2021.

Kingston Council's planning committee approved the scheme from developer RER Kingston Limited on Thursday, May 25. The council is still considering a separate application for listed building consent for the scheme, which is needed for the development to go ahead, and will make a decision in due course.

The scheme includes revamping, restoring and extending the Grade II* listed county hall to provide new workspaces and homes. It also involves the demolition of the canteen and computer wing for replacement apartment blocks up to six storeys tall.

The developer slashed the number of proposed homes to 292, from 341 originally, and reduced the maximum height of the new buildings to six storeys, following concerns raised by residents about the scale of the scheme. The development includes 36 affordable homes.

Council officers recommended the scheme be approved in a report ahead of the meeting on May 25. The report said there are disadvantages to the scheme, including a low level of harm to the significance of the Grade II* listed county hall, due to proposed changes to the building, and a loss of employment floorspace.

But the report said the scheme offers a range of benefits, including new homes when there is a "pressing need" for housing, high-quality public open space surrounded by high-quality architecture, a reduction in traffic in the immediate area and the reuse of a previously-developed site in a "highly accessible location".

Surrey County Council's former HQ used to be In Kingston (Credit: Google Streetview)

Overall, the report ruled: "Taken together it is concluded that the adverse impacts of the development would not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of the proposal."

The county hall was opened in 1893, when Kingston was part of Surrey. Surrey County Council moved its headquarters to Reigate in early 2021, according to the report. An application form for the scheme adds the site has been empty since March 2021.

A cover letter for the scheme from agent DP9, dated January 2023, said the development would be "appropriate and sensitive to the significance of built heritage and would deliver considerable heritage benefits that would outweigh any perceived harm that may be considered to remain".

Another statement submitted with the plans, from December 2021, added the development "secures the life of the listed building going forward into the future".

Nine councillors voted in favour of the application, with one against and one abstention.