Beds ahead as Camden gives nod for office conversion

Planners at Camden Council have given True North Management the go ahead to turn the former headquarters of the Chartered Society for Physiotherapists into a 65-bedroom aparthotel. The 25,381 sq ft office block at 14 Bedford Row, WC1, was vacated by the CSP at the start of the first Covid lockdown in 2020. CBRE was appointed in August 2021 to find a new tenant but failed to secure any interest in the class-E office space. Plans to redevelop the property as an aparthotel were drawn up after it was made clear that no “rational owner” would want to invest the level of cash needed to bring the building up to occupational standards for an office tenant. The scheme, designed by White Red Architects, proposes 65 aparthotel bedrooms and seeks to take the EPC rating of the building from a D to at least a B, with a BREEAM Excellent certification. Also at the planning meeting, unanimous approval was also given for Tudehope’s redevelopment of 40 Bernard Street, WC1.  The Hale Brown Architects-designed proposals will see the five-storey, 157,831 sq ft office block off Russell Square refurbished with an extra floor of 9,687 sq ft plus roof terraces and cycle storage added. Current occupiers include flexible office provider Landmark, University College London and the NHS. Savills advised True North on planning, while Walsingham provided planning advice to Tudehope.