Great Arthur House Flat & Golden Lane Estate Office

Tender description

The City of London has not escaped the housing shortage that bedevils local authorities across the country. This lack is only more pressing when one considers the paucity of wheelchair adaptable and wheelchair accessible flats among the City’s housing stock. In view of this, the City has embarked on a project to convert some of the ground floor of Great Arthur House into either wheelchair accessible or wheelchair adaptable flats. The Estates Office will remain, but will reduce in size to accommodate the new residential flats. One flat has been designed to accommodate two bedrooms and will be wheelchair accessible, henceforth referred to as G01, an the remaining flat has been designed as a one-bed wheelchair adaptable, designated G02, in order to maximise its flexibility. Mindful of Great Arthur House’s Grade II listed status, the approach to the conversion of the building’s ground floor from storage, ancillary facilities, and offices, to also provide flats, has been characterised by a desire to preserve as much of the original fabric as possible. It is proposed that the whole of the southern half of the ground floor be given over to the two-bedroom, wheelchair accessible flat (G01), particularly since the requirements of a Category 3 flat, as set forth in Part M of the Building Regulations, have greater demands on space. The living room, kitchen and dining area are to be located on the southwestern side of the building. The one-bed adaptable flat (G02) is to be located in the north western quarter of the building, in the space currently occupied by part of the Estate Office. The Estates office will remain in a reduced and streamlined format in the north eastern quarter retaining this service in it’s current location for residents of the estate