Concerns raised over flats proposed at Dorchester's South Walks House council offices

An application is already in the planning system for conversion of the South Walks House building to 41, one, two and three-bed apartments.

Town council planning committee chairman Cllr Robin Potter said this week that alterations to the building, designed for office use, could present problems because many of the existing windows could not be opened to create a natural flow of air.

Cllr Richard Biggs agreed saying that, unless re-configured, some flats might end up being too hot, on the sunny side, and others too cold.

Said Cllr Potter: “It’s not up to us but whatever they do with it needs to be done properly. It has no openable windows, at least on the ground floor, although I don’t know about higher up.”

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The application for converting the building involves only the council offices and meeting rooms, not the adjoining library and learning centre which will remain in use.

Despite town councillors concerns papers submitted with the application for a change to flats suggest that it has been recognised that changes may be needed to at least some windows.

South Walks House

A document in the application pack details how dealing with habitable rooms receiving adequate natural light might be achieved. It says that two new windows are required to serve the living room of a 2nd floor apartment on the South elevation and adds: “In addition, the existing glazing needs to be adapted for all of the 3rd floor apartments on the North and South elevations. All of these changes are shown on the submitted elevations and floor plans. It is considered that the nature of these changes is such that they would not materially affect the external appearance of the building.”

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The 2012 three-storey office block and the library and adult learning centre, was built at a cost of around £9million. It attracted widespread opposition at the time for its costs and the breaching of the historic Walks to put in a new road junction. At the time the building was dubbed ‘Titannic’ by protestors.