Kiosk plan for empty St John's shop rejected by council

Farefield Properties had wanted to open a small retail kiosk in the vacant shop front at 1 St John’s and turn the rest of the ground floor into a one-bedroom apartment.

But city planners said the proposal was “unacceptable” as the loss of retail floorspace would negatively impact the area.

“It is understood that although currently vacant, the unit has previously been used as an undertakers and more recently was occupied by a cake shop from August 2022 to September 2023,” the council said in its planning decision report.

“No marketing evidence has been provided to indicate that there is no demand for the retail unit in its current format.”

Planning officers also had concerns over the quality of accommodation the ground floor flat would provide.

“There would be a very poor outlook from the proposed unit, with windows looking out onto a small alleyway,” they said, adding that the flat would get “insufficient” amounts of sunlight.

“In addition, no private outdoor amenity space has been incorporated into the proposed development, which would result in poor quality living conditions for future occupiers.”

The council’s conservation officer said the proposals wouldn’t have done any additional harm to the listed building.

“Indeed, [the plans] declutter the street frontage are very positive,” they added.

According to planning documents, a potential retailer had been lined up to take over the kiosk.

The upper floors of the building are already in use as apartments.

No car parking spaces had been included in the application. The developer had said the building was in a “highly sustainable location” in the heart of St John’s and future occupants would not “need a car to meet their day-to-day needs”.

It was also pointed out that the landlord owns 36 parking spaces nearby, which are used by other tenants of his.

While it refused to grant planning permission, Worcester City Council did grant listed building consent.