Plans to create 181 new homes off the A40 London Road in High Wycombe have been given the green light.

Five office buildings at the 7.5 acre Kingsmead Business Park, Frederick Place, can be converted into self-contained apartments, planners have ruled.

Buckinghamshire Council gave its prior approval to plans, which were put forward by applicant, PJK Mead Ltd.

The company is a joint venture between Jansons Property and the billionaire Pears family who run the William Pears Group and were ranked 53rd on this year’s Sunday Times Rich List.

In a new decision notice, planning officers said the details of the plans to transform the Loudwater business hub were acceptable.

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However, they attached two conditions to their approval to reduce the risk of flooding at the site, which is bounded by the River Wye.

The first is that a detailed emergency access and escape plan for the building be submitted and approved in writing before development takes place.

The second is that flood resistance measures be outlined before the conversion of the ground floor takes place.

Planning officers wrote: “There are a wide range of measures that could potentially be incorporated into the ground floor of the building, including for example raising all sensitive electrical equipment, wiring and sockets to at least 600mm above the estimated flood level and making sure that soil pipes are protected from back-flow such as by using non-return valves.”

Parts of the site are located in flood zones one and two, meaning that there is a medium risk of flooding at the site.

But neither the Environment Agency or council flooding experts have raised objections to the plans after being consulted on the application.

The 181 new flats at the site will be spread across the five buildings as follows: 26 at Hampden Court, 45 at Buckingham Court, 53 at Windsor Court, 34 at Oakley Court and 23 at Aston Court.

Transport plans submitted as part of the five applications say that 372 parking spaces will be available to the new tenants of the site, plus one cycling space per flat

Council parking guidelines stipulate that there must be ‘two spaces per dwelling’ for two and three-bedroom homes, as well as one cycle space.

The applicant’s transport statement read: “The cumulative impact of all five change of use applications at Kingsmead Business Park would have a positive impact on the local highway network and would not result in severe residual impact on the surrounding local highway network.”

The council’s approval comes after Jansons’ recent announcement that it had acquired Kingsmead Business Park and the Boulevard in Bracknell.

The property firm said the deal had a ‘gross development value’ of £100 million.

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