Bourne Hall in Ewell to lodge social housing
A historic Surrey building is set to return to use as social housing after “sensitive” renovation works were given the green light. Planning permission and listed building consent have been granted for The Lodge at Bourne Hall in Ewell to be turned into residential use.
Epsom & Ewell Borough Council submitted an application to itself for the works to go ahead, which have now been approved by the planning committee. “The primary driver for this application is to rescue the vacant building from deterioration and render the property fit for modern human occupation,” the council’s planning documents read.
“The property is intended to be brought into service as social housing. To achieve this, the applicant is legally and morally bound to meet the decent homes standard in terms of thermal comfort, safety, and structural integrity.”
They noted that the property in its current state is “unhabitable”, with defects ranging from joinery failure to fabric decay and inadequate insulation. While planning officers had to consider potential impacts on the Grade II listed property’s heritage assets, they nonetheless deemed the benefits of the scheme would outweigh any harms.
Councillor Clive Woodbridge (Residents Associations of Epsom and Ewell: Ewell Village Ward) told the planning committee: “The best way to protect the historic building is to have somebody living there and looking after it. And that’s what this application does.”
The internal layout of the property is expected to broadly remain the same, although the internal staircase is earmarked for replacement. “The existing inappropriate, non-period external doors will be removed”, the planning documents add.
“They will be replaced with bespoke, four panel doors engineered to match the early 19th-century aesthetic dictated by the Lodge’s listing context. They will incorporate modern high-performance draft seals and security features hidden completely within period-accurate panelled designs.”
While the site will remain car-free, the documents note that “the site is sustainably located close to Ewell town centre and to public transport”.
James Moules Local Democracy Reporter
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Bourne Hall Ewell (Credit: Google Maps)