Guardians - Material Change of Use ? - Public forum - Planning Advisory Service (PAS)

Hi, I wanted to ask whether anyone had any experience with a Guardian scheme that Camden Council has recently been made aware of. I have an enforcement case regarding the use of an office for residential purposes, which is argued as not being a material change of use. A Guardian scheme allows people to stay in un-occupied premises like warehouses, schools, office buildings for 'security' purposes. They pay a reduced fee or (rent) to stay there which is significantly cheaper than renting a flat, house, or room in a residential building. A Guardian is there to deter sqautters, vandels etc and are said to look after the property until either the building is sold, or the future of the building is decided. i.e planning permission granted for another use of the property. A Guardian can not use the premises for commercial business but is free to go to work and come back to the premises to sleep. My case is an office block where up to 12 people are living in office accommodation while the premises is unoccupied. A shower has been installed for communal use and locks placed on doors for individuals privacy. The premsies already has a kitchen which is also used communally, which suggests that the people live as a House of Multiple Occupation (HMO). The arbiters of this scheme argue that this is not a change of use from B1 office use to either a sui generis use as a HMO, or for temporary sleeping acommodation, as the primary use of the premises remains an office use. I have attached 3 documents that have been sent to us regarding reasons why it is felt that a Guardian scheme is not a material change of use, nor can be construed as operational development. These documents are not case specific but are being used as the general rule of thumb by the company operating this scheme and i believe that this scheme has been rolled out across London. I would be grateful for any help, advice or experiences that people may have had with Guardians and whether this s this a material change of use of the premises? My contact details are david.bloom@camden.gov.uk if you would like to contact me or by telephone on 020 7974 3070. I thank you all in advance and will get on and do some more digging into this whilst i wait. Regards David