Historic Worcester Gatehouse Proposed for Conversion to Family Home

Developers have submitted an application to convert a Grade II listed building, The Gatehouse in Worcester, into a family residence. This property, located near Mount Battenhall Retirement Village, was previously designated for housing older individuals following a site-wide change of use approved in 2017. A submission to Worcester City Council stated: “The change of use of the building to… dwelling house will allow the building to be brought back into a viable use, as it will be saleable to a wider audience and can be used as a family home.” The proposals have been lodged with Worcester City Council, and a public consultation period is set to conclude on 11 December. The document indicated that the property, identified as St Mary’s Lodge on Battle Road, has been unoccupied since 2016. It has been on the market since 2020 without being sold, with feedback suggesting this was primarily “due to having a number of stairs and being large with multiple reception rooms and bedrooms.” Consequently, the application aims to revert St Mary’s Lodge “to a dwelling,” departing from its approved use for “elderly living” as residential accommodation linked to the broader retirement village site. The statement, submitted by ERL (Worcester) Ltd, the applicant, detailed that the three-storey structure comprises three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and three reception rooms. The proposed changes involve installing railings to delineate the property’s boundary. A woodland walk, which serves residents of the retirement development, will be preserved, meaning the “only work associated with the application is the installation of minimal domestic fencing.”