Plans to turn Stanmer House near Brighton into flats

KSD Group, which owns the leasehold to Stanmer House, wants to create ten new apartments across the ground and first and second floors in the building.

The building maintenance company has sought pre-application advice for a change of use for the 18th century country house.

It would also like to add a new public exhibition space on the ground floor, alongside the cafe.

Proposals include adding two flats to the ground floor, and four flats each on the first and second floors.

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The mix of two-bedroom and one-bedroom apartments would also have access to a residents’ lounge, a communal courtyard, gym, steam room, sauna, residents bar and cinema room.

The application, submitted to the South Downs National Park, states that the property has had "a difficult history of failed commercial occupants".

Stanmer House

Proposals aim to deliver "a high-quality development that will ensure the long term enhancement and conservation of the listed country house, whilst maintaining public access".

As part of works on the Grade I listed building, a single storey kitchen wing would be demolished and replaced with a new two-storey extension in the rear courtyard, to make space for apartments and enlarge the communal courtyard area.

This extension, which is not visible from the front of the house, would be built with natural slate roof tiles, sand and cement render walls and painted timber windows, to match the existing building.

The entrance hall and staircase would be kept as key historic features for the public to access, with the cafe and exhibition space taking up the main reception rooms on the ground floor.

The lawned garden on the eastern side of the building would be returned to its original condition and be publicly accessible as part of the proposed café.

Plans state that interventions are "minimal" and "largely maintain the historic layout of the building".

On affordable housing, the plans state that the proposed units are "unlikely to be attractive to Registered Providers" due to the high maintenance costs involved in the development, and therefore affordable housing at the site is "unlikely to be viable".

Instead, the company has proposed to build affordable housing units on another site in the National Park, at New Pit Depot in Lewes.

• READ MORE: Alex Proud's Stanmer House company had debts of more than £1m

Designed by Nicholas Dubois in the 18th century, Stanmer House was listed in 1954.

There are already residential spaces in the north-western wing of the building and the stable block to the north.

Planning permission was given in 2017 for 22 rooms to be used as a hotel, but this was never fully implemented.

Up until February last year, the house was used for weddings and functions, and also had a ground floor cafe and restaurant.

Entrepreneur Alex Proud, who had been managing the manor house since 2016, ceased trading as his company went into liquidation.

KSD Group were contacted for comment.