A PLAN to convert a former supermarket into retirement flats should be turned down because it is too big, the council said.

The former Co-op supermarket in St John’s in Worcester closed almost a year ago and plans to flatten the building and replace it with 58 new flats for the over 60s were put forward by Gladman Retirement Living.

Planning officers at Worcester City Council have recommended the application is turned down when the authority’s planning committee meets in the Guildhall next week – calling the scheme “obtrusive” and “excessive.”

A report, which will be discussed at the planning committee meeting on February 23, said: “Whilst the proposed development would deliver accommodation to meet the needs of older people in a sustainable location in terms of access to public transport, facilities, and service, due to its scale, massing and design it would fail to integrate effectively into its surroundings and would be inappropriate.

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“It is considered that the proposal would have a harmful impact on the living conditions of neighbouring properties and would not ensure that all future residents would have a high standard of amenity standard in terms of daylight and sunlight both within the accommodation and outside.”

Plans show a mix of one, two and three-bed flats would be built in a two-to-three-storey building alongside a restaurant, coffee bar, activities studio, resident lounge, hair salon and garden as well as 35 car parking spaces.

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The former Co-op closed in April last year after 130 years of trading in St John’s.

Changes were made to designs put forward at the start of 2022 after the plans were criticised for looking “cramped” with the restaurant and community room moved to a more prominent location alongside the existing shops in St John’s.

Last year, St John’s councillor Richard Udall called for the building to be protected in the face of the upcoming planning application for a new retirement village saying the supermarket had been an essential part of the community.

Some concerns had been raised about the loss of a supermarket in St John’s and Gladman Retirement Living said the former Co-op was “poorly performing” and no interest had been made in taking over the building for retail.