The application is for a change of planning use class to D1 for three of the five floors of the 5,500 sq metre office block in Davigdor Road. The applicant, BOSIC, has a £3m budget for conversion and anticipates it could support 100 jobs and accommodate over 12,000 patient visits per annum.

The applicant proposes using the first three floors for treatment rooms and the upper two floors as office space after refurbishment.

Montefiore House was originally constructed in 1890 as six separate but connected units, to be used as a furniture depository for Hanningtons Department Store

The internal walls for these units are load bearing and in addition the building is built on three levels, following the slope of Montefiore Road. Because of this, the open plan floor plates increasingly required for modern office use cannot be created and despite marketing the block for 5 years, there has been little interest.

Brighton & Hove Economic Partnership will be responding to the planning application.