A PLAN to build an apartment building in the car park of a city centre office block has been rejected by council planners.
The proposals would have seen a new three-storey building with six flats built behind former offices in Foregate Street in Worcester – replacing earlier plans to build a four-storey block with seven apartments.
Worcester City Council’s planning officers have rejected the plan saying it would not complement the rest of the area.
Officers said the apartment building would be “harmful” to neighbouring listed buildings and would be “unsympathetic” to the character and appearance of the surrounding conservation area.
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The former office building facing Foregate Street is set to be converted into 13 flats as part of separate plans by the same developer Foregate Regeneration.
Worcester City Council’s planning committee approved the application in November last year but an original plan that would have allowed for a four-storey building to be built to house seven apartments in the rear car park of the empty grade II-listed former solicitor’s office was scrapped after a number of concerns were raised.
The ground floor unit of the listed building in Foregate Street, which used to be home to offices but has been empty for more than two years following Thursfields Solicitors relocating nearby to The Tything, would remain in place.
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In an objection, the conservation advisory group, said: “It was agreed that the proposal would be a harmful infilling of one of the few remaining open ‘back land’ sites in Farrier Street. It would obscure the view of the main listed buildings, and this would cause considerable harm to the character of the conservation area.
“The panel noted that there are other tall structures in the area but considered that this places even more importance on the need to keep these few remaining back land areas open and undeveloped.”
Highways officers at Worcestershire County Council also objected to the application saying it could not support a plan that removed seven car parking spaces to make way for the new apartment building.
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