PLANNING officers at the council have said a move to demolish a former church hall to make way for more than 50 student flats should be given the green light.
The plan would see a new four-storey student accommodation block with 54 flats built next to St Clement’s Church in Henwick Road in Worcester.
St Clement’s Church Hall, which was built in 1909 but has been empty for several years, would be demolished to make way for the new block as part of the plan by developer New Venture Housing.
Officers at Worcester City Council have said the application should be given the go-ahead when the planning committee meets in the Guildhall on Thursday (March 23).
According to the application, anyone living in the student digs would not be able to park a car on site or within one kilometre of the building as part of a tenancy agreement.
The developer said the new accommodation block would help cut the reliance on the number of houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) in St John’s and the rest of Worcester.
In a report which will be discussed by councillors, the city council’s planning officers agreed the new student flats could “potentially” cut the number of family homes being converted into HMOs and said that using ‘disused and vacant’ land – such as St Clement’s Church Hall which had been on the market from 2015 until it was bought in 2019 – was the most “sustainable” option.
The planning committee meets in the Guildhall from 1.30pm on March 23.
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