A BID to add an extra layer of flats by extending into the roof of a Dorchester town centre building has been described as “sneaky”.

Dorchester town councillors say the extension, for six ‘penthouse apartments’ in the roof of Vespasian House, off the Bridport Road, would be an overdevelopment, adding to parking and traffic problems in the area.

The building, used as offices for the NHS, currently has permission for conversion into 31 flats for RTI Estates Ltd.

That work is being done under permitted development rules, with the use of the fourth floor for the additional flats requested using the same process, which means the development is considered by planning officials without going through the full planning process. The route is legitimate and designed to speed up decisions on certain categories of application.

(Image: Thrive Architects/Dorset Council)

Cllr Richard Biggs told fellow town councillors that the company behind the re-development were using method to gain consent - which he described as “sneaky”. The site is on the edge of a Conservation Area and adjacent to listed buildings, including The Keep Military Museum.

“Having yet more flats will just put more strain on parking in the area,” he said, adding that for those living in the roof space, if the extra flats are allowed, were likely to be “absolutely baking” in the warmer months of the year.

Cllr Biggs said that when the redevelopment started people were told that the flats would be let out to hospital staff, but he said that since then he had been told that is not the case and they will be for general rentals, including short-term lets.

Cllr Les Fry said because of the community concerns being expressed he had asked for the proposal to come before a planning committee of councillors, rather than be decided by a planning officer alone.

(Image: Trevor Bevins)  Vespasian House, rear view with entrance to NHS offices within the building

Cllr Fiona Kent-Ledger, who has worked in the building, said that by using the roof space for homes, she feared that the way the building was designed, to regulate its own temperature, would no longer work.

“It is also very close to the listed Keep and Barracks buildings and will dominate the area with extra flats… I’m uncomfortable with this whole scenario just to get six more flats in,” she said.

RTI chief executive Malcolm Curtis recently told the Dorset Echo: “We have looked at how we can repurpose the building in a positive way for the community and local economy as part of our wider ongoing regeneration of the Barrack Quarter.

“We are exploring the possibility of delivering rental homes, with flexible leases from six months up to five years that provide families not only high quality modern sustainable homes but also provide flexible and secure tenures not normally associated with the rental sector.

“We believe that with demand for rental properties being so high, this would be an ideal, long-term sustainable repurposing of Vespasian House.”