A Richmond school trust has applied to turn an empty home into a house in multiple occupations (HMO) building for its staff members.

In September 2024, The Trustees of the Hampton School Trust applied to Richmond upon Thames to turn the empty home standing at 5 Church Street into an HMO building.

The home, known as the Old Vicarage, currently has enough bedrooms capable of housing no more than six people.

The planning application states that it wants the Old Vicarage to be used for 14 people as affordable accommodation for school staff who work at the Hampton schools.

These schools are the Hampton School, on Hanworth Road, and Denmead School on Wensleydale Road.

The core of the plan is the home teachers and staff who work at the Hampton schools but live generally far away from their employment.

The building will include a large communal living room and a large kitchen on the ground floor.

There will also be a second kitchen on the second floor.

Two large communal areas are included – one of these will be at ground level for residents.

A second communal area will be on the second floor.

There will also be a large garden which wraps around the building, providing sufficient outdoor space and fresh air for occupants.

The proposal promises to bring eight car parking spaces and 11 spaces for bicycles.

The site falls under a Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) of 2, meaning access to public transport is relatively “poor”.

The nearest train station is Hampton Railway Station, which is approximately 13 minutes to get to on foot.

The applicant says that the proposal will have “minimal impact” on the area as the site can already be used for up to six people.

The trustees said in their application: “The change of use will provide accommodation for up to a further eight people in a sustainable location.

“The principle of development is therefore considered acceptable.

“The proposal will comply with the Nationally Described Space Standards and will not result in any unacceptable impacts in relation to heritage, transport, access and parking, residential amenity or fire safety.

“In light of the benefits of the proposed development and lack of significant detrimental impacts, we recommend that the proposed development is approve.”

Richmond Council is expected to decide whether to approve or reject the application by December 2024.