Plan to turn Southampton's Brunel House into flats approved

The city council has approved an application to convert Brunel House, a four-storey building at the junction of Kings Park Road and Brunswick Place.

It follows a sharp rise in the number of people working from home since the start of the pandemic in 2020.

Brunel House has been used as an office block for almost 60 years and was originally occupied by Eagle Star Insurance.

Now Casita Brunel Ltd has received consent to turn the building into flats, with five homes on the ground floor, six each on the first and second floors, and five on the third floor.

Plans to turn offices at Brunel House into flats have been approved by Southampton City Council (Image: Andrew Burgess Planning)

Brunel House is surrounded by pubs, restaurants, apartments, and a public park.

A planning statement that accompanies the application said a building on Kings Park Road was being converted into flats.

It added: "The site is located in a mixed-use urban area where office uses are becoming less prevalent due to the change in working practices following the pandemic and the development of new technology enabling working from home via video conferencing."

READ MORE: Vacant offices at Brunswick Place in Southampton set to become apartments

The statement said there were no neighboring uses that could create an unacceptable amount of noise and disturbance to people living in the flats.

"It should be noted that the use of the building as residential apartments will result in the positive reuse of the building and contribute to housing supply in a highly sustainable location."

Brunel House is near a terrace of mid-19th century townhouses that are Grade II-listed (Image: Newsquest.)

A council report added: "The application site is located within the city centre, which is well catered for by public transport.

"The council’s environment officer has concluded there are no records of any potentially contaminating land uses having existed on the site or in adjacent areas.

"While the officer has suggested a more thorough assessment, it is considered that further work would not be proportionate to the risks.

"The provision of residential apartments adjacent to office use is considered to be acceptable and unlikely to result in unacceptable noise and disturbance to future residents."

READ MORE: Brunswick Place and other city centre evacuated following discovery of 'unexploded ordnance'

Brunel House overlooks East Park and is also near a terrace of 19th century townhouses that are all Grade II-listed buildings.

The report said: "No external changes are being proposed. As such there would be no direct impact on the heritage assets."

After fighting off a takeover bid by a German insurance company in 1981, Eagle Star Insurance was acquired by BAT Industries in 1984. It was taken over by Zurich Financial Services in 1999.