Old Bailey flat divided for staff accommodation
GoogleA large flat in the Old Bailey is to be divided into two because staff members overseeing the running of the court have been left with nowhere to stay.
The keeper and their team, who manage the day-to-day running of the Grade II* listed Central Criminal Court, have been unable to reside in their designated property due to it being used to accommodate judges.
Recently-approved plans by the City of London Corporation intend to rectify this by splitting the large fourth-floor flat up.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands the subdividing of the flat would provide additional overnight accommodation for staff members such as security, as well as judges.
According to the proposal, the living room is to be subdivided into two bedrooms, with a full shower room between them.
"Both bedrooms are proposed [to] have built-in furniture to allow for storage, double bed sleeping and spaces for work," the application stated.
"The idea being that there will be minimal need for re-arranging or 'resetting' between uses, and the spaces will be comfortable, private and functional for users."
The alteration is also taking place in the least important part of the building from a historic perspective.
All five flats in the Old Bailey are used for operational purposes, with none of them let out commercially.
It is not clear where the keeper and their team have been staying up to this point.
Owned and administered by the City of London Corporation, the Old Bailey is one of several buildings housing the Crown Court.
A courthouse has existed on the site since the 16th Century. The present building was restored and enlarged following an air-raid in 1941 and latterly in the 1960s and 1970s following damage from an IRA car bomb.
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