Bid to turn Old County Hall into student flats after failed redevelopments

Cornwall Council has received an application for listed building consent to convert its former base Old County Hall in Truro into student accommodation. If approved, the building – which has been empty for over ten years – would provide 83 beds for students of Falmouth University and the University of Exeter.

CAD Architects has submitted plans on behalf of applicant Peter Woods, of OCH Residential Truro Limited, to convert Grade II listed Old County Hall – which was built in the early 20th century – into student accommodation in 17 “cluster units”, which would be offered to students under the management of Falmouth Exeter Plus (FXPlus), the organisation which manages and delivers services at Penryn, Falmouth and Truro campuses. There would also be amenity space and parking for 18 cars.

The planning application states: “The proposal is to convert Old County Hall into student accommodation in a sustainable urban location – and this use will safeguard the future of the currently vacant property which is a valuable heritage asset.”

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It adds: “There is now an increasing need for dedicated student accommodation in the Truro area, due to the growth of both Falmouth and Exeter universities which are now expanding outwards from the Falmouth/Penryn area. Rising student housing need in the Truro vicinity includes both the intended relocation of elements of Falmouth University to the Pydar Street redevelopment, and the already existing need to accommodate medical students in Truro due to the increasing capacity of the University of Exeter Medical School and proximity of the Knowledge Spa medical school at the nearby Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske.”

The building already benefits from planning and listed building consents which granted approval in 2014 for extensive modifications to turn Old County Hall into a hotel, plus conversion of the adjacent coach house into two homes, with a further 12 new-build apartments to the side and the erection of 23 ‘apart-hotel’ flats on the car park site to the rear of the building. The scheme for hotel use proved to be undeliverable.

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To date, the coach house conversion has been completed, along with the construction of the 12 new-build apartments – now known as Assay House. Further planning and listed building applications were lodged by Acorn Blue in 2021 which still await determination; these proposals would involve the conversion of Old County Hall to 34 apartments.

The applicant says: “Our proposed conversion seeks simply to restore the external appearance of Old County Hall to its original grandeur, without the need for any significant external interventions to the façade. Furthermore, the council chamber itself will return to its original domed glory for student social/amenity and curriculum use – accessed via the striking Edwardian entrance staircase rising from the portico entrance on Station Road.”

The individual student bedrooms would be grouped in clusters of predominantly five and six-bed units, each with a dedicated kitchen/living room and bathroom/ensuite facilities, which “will enable the proposed provider FXPlus a degree of financial flexibility in setting the rent brackets for differing types of bedrooms and associated facilities”.

Recent history of Old County Hall

Historic Cornwall site Old County Hall in Truro sells for around £3.5 million

New plans to turn Old County Hall in Truro into apartments

Homes are for sale at The Old County Hall in Truro with a hotel and spa also in the works

The bulk of Old County Hall was built between 1910 and 1912 to designs by Silcock and Reay, with further rear extensions in 1924. The council vacated the building in 2012, with most of its staff moving further up the hill to New County Hall, which has now been renamed Lys Kernow.

The application states: “Without doubt, the development will preserve and enhance the character of this important listed building – along with the appearance of the conservation area – and safeguard the future of this significant heritage asset, ensuring its long-term viability and its presence as an iconic building in Truro’s streetscape.”

The iconic building was bought from Cornwall Council by Nigel Carpenter in 2012, owner of St Michael’s Hotel & Spa in Falmouth, for £1.2 million. Planning permission was granted in April 2013 to convert it into a 42-bedroom boutique hotel and spa at an estimated cost of £10 million.

But Mr Carpenter then placed the property on the market for £3 million in 2015. The Old County Hall was later snapped up by newly-established developers Wolf Rock Cornwall Ltd, for an undisclosed sum.

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