Green light for 53-flat conversion at BT building

Proposal given go-ahead but no plans to undergo work

The owners of a huge city centre office block occupied by BT have been given the green light to turn it into 53 flats. Property firm Telereal Trillium has been told it can go ahead with an ambitious proposal to transform Becket House in New Dover Road, which currently houses a BT call centre, into a residential building. But it is not thought the building’s owners are planning to carry out the work any time soon, or that jobs are at risk. In 2017, Telereal Trillium launched a proposal to turn the prominent 1.1-hectare site into 118 homes.

The city council rejected the plans, for reasons including the loss of employment floor space in the city, the impact on the local economy and the effect of the proposal on two adjoining conservation areas. Telereal Trillium appealed the decision but lost at a planning inquiry.

However, the company has now launched plans to turn Becket House into 53 flats - a mix of one and two-bed homes. The firm made an application to the city council to find out whether it requires the authority’s prior approval, before going ahead with the conversion. But council officers have determined their prior approval is “not required in this case”. This means the developer can go ahead with the works outlined in its application, and transform the offices into residential space.

An identical application was also permitted by the city council in 2014, but expired four years ago.

BT has a long-term lease on Becket House, and the Gazette understands it has no plans to vacate the site.

Neither BT nor Telereal Trillium would provide a statement relating to the plans.

Becket House in New Dover Road, Canterbury, is currently home to BT offices