Could this be the site of the Lake District’s smallest home?
Plans have been submitted to replace a garage on the corner of Ratcliffe Place and George Street into an one-bed house.
Its plans show it would have a floor space of 41.5 sq m.
Government guidelines say the smallest properties which can be built are 37sq m for one-bedroom dwellings with a single bed space, and 50sq m for one-bedroom dwellings with a double bed space.
The new two-storey property in Keswick, if it is given the go-ahead by Lake District planners, would have a local occupancy clause and would be designated as ‘affordable’.
The ground floor features an open plan kitchen/living room and diner, an outside terrace – including a planting bed – bin store, and cloakroom.
Upstairs is the single bedroom, storage and en suite bathroom with a bath.
A new front door would open onto George Street.
Kendal-based architects Miller Clear, in a report to planners, said: “The project highlights both the challenges of providing affordable small scale units for local residents and essential workers, and the opportunities of making better use of this kind of brownfield windfall site.
“The design will greatly improve the appearance of the existing single-storey garage which will enhance the existing heritage asset.”
It said it had worked closely with its client and the Lake District National Park Authority to devise a scheme which would provide a compact one-bedroom local occupancy unit on a very constrained site.
Keswick Town Council – as one of the consultees – has said it both supported and objected to the idea.
Cllr Steve Harwood, who heads the council’s three-member planning panel, said the property would need to be designated a ‘one person, one bedroom’ dwelling as it was well below the minimum space standard for a two-person dwelling.
The panel also had objections to some elements of its design in the conservation area, he said.
The planning application will be decided by the Lake District National Park Authority.
