Warning council building in Maidstone could become HMO for London boroughs
Kent County Council are considering selling Invicta House
A large office block to be sold by Reform UK-led Kent County Council (KCC) could be targeted by London boroughs for high-density accommodation.
Recent confidential papers, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), warn Invicta House could be attractive to councils in and around the capital which are short of housing.
The Reform administration has dropped the sale of County Hall in the centre of Maidstone in favour of selling its large annex next door.
Documents show such buildings can be converted easily to residential use without planning permission.
KCC owns the “unencumbered” freehold of the 65,000sqft hexagonal property and 250 parking spaces, which was built in 1983, and has a market valuation of £3.3m.
The papers state: “Market feedback suggests the highest value use could be to convert into a large house of multiple occupation (HMO) via PDR creating high density studio one bedroom flats with lease nomination agreements in place with London borough (similar to other office buildings in Maidstone).”
In another section, they say: “Market demand may also come from investors and developers looking to convert the building into residential accommodation via permitted development rights (PDR) without the need for planning permission.
“The supply of office space in Maidstone has reduced over the last 10 years (eg Brenchley House, Concord House, Kent House, Priory Gate etc) being converted into high density residential flats via PDR.”
Conservative group leader at KCC, Cllr Harry Rayner said he tried to persuade members of the policy and resources committee in September to press for a way round the building being vulnerable to becoming an HMO.
He added: “You can put on a freehold covenant, to be applied by KCC, and that goes a long way in preventing Invicta House becoming an HMO and London councils transferring homeless people to Maidstone.”
Leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition at KCC, Cllr Antony Hook said: “It is surprising the Reform UK administration should be putting that forward as an idea since their rhetoric across the country is very much against HMOs.
“It might be more attractive to find a way of converting it into self-contained apartments for young people or families who are finding it hard to find suitable, affordable places to live.”
Green Party leader of Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) Stuart Jeffery, who is also a KCC member, said: “From what I have heard, the option for Invicta House to become an HMO type building is clearly a possibility given that it is a permitted development but I am not sure it is the right building for that use.
“I think more worryingly for me is that the opportunity to use the building for a new authority (after local government reorganisation) will be lost.”
Asked if Maidstone council might be interested in buying the property, Cllr Jeffery said: “We are interested in all properties both for commercial but also for housing purposes. We have quite a long housing waiting lists and high temporary accommodation costs.”
The KCC papers say that the conversion from offices to flats has proved “contentious” in the past due to “claims London borough relocating challenging single occupier residents in such accommodation, often very small studio flats.
“There is a strong argument that this trend has adversely affected (Maidstone) town centre and caused a rise in linked antisocial issues in the past five to 10 years.”
Continued use as offices, probably under multiple tenancies, is not ruled out in the papers but many observers say the days of town centre administrative centres are over.
Although Invicta House is assessed to be in an overall “fair” condition, its roof may need to be replaced.
In recent years the building was earmarked for refurbishment and retention for staff and member use.
Latterly, the previous Conservative administration decided to sell County Hall, also known as Sessions House, and move into Invicta House, partly with a view to the future of local government in Kent.
The plan was to move some staff temporarily to Sessions House while the modernisation was being carried out and then vacate County Hall after its sale.
But when Reform UK swept to power in May, one of the first decisions was to scrap the sale of the KCC HQ that had already been agreed.
Rather than spend £14m on the conversion of Invicta House, the new administration decided to spend more modestly on repairs to Sessions House to provide the space needed for those staffers migrating over. Critics, including Green Party member Cllr Mark Hood, say it is a false economy the eventual bill could reach £67m.
KCC was approached for a comment.