St John's student flats approved despite parking worries

The plan to build the four-storey student block off Henwick Road in Worcester was approved by the city council’s planning committee even with fears it would spell trouble for elderly neighbours living in nearby sheltered housing.

The application by New Venture Housing will see the empty 144-year-old St Clement’s Church Hall demolished to make way for the new student accommodation.

Cllr Alan Amos said the plan should be rejected because of the “excessive disruption” it would cause and the “lack of parking provision and the consequences thereof” – but his move to get the plan turned down was not supported by the majority of the planning committee.

As well as the lack of parking, the planning committee was largely concerned that the student block, which would be home to more than 50 students, would not have any on-site security.

New Venture Housing had told councillors that a hotline would be used to deal with issues and that it expected staff to respond in person within 15 minutes on most occasions.

Cllr Pat Agar said she would be “much happier” if the student block had on-site security rather than a helpline – particularly as it would be built near hundreds of elderly and vulnerable people – and it was agreed to include a rule that would force the developer to make sure staff were present late at night.

St John’s councillor Richard Udall continued to oppose the move saying the four-storey student block would “overshadow and over-dominate” neighbouring buildings.

“This is the largest sheltered housing complex in the West Midlands and pensioners and students have very different expectations and this application will devastate their quiet community,” he said at the meeting in the Guildhall on April 20.

Cllr Jenny Barnes said she did not believe the church hall needed saving and could only remember it being used for the “odd children’s party when people couldn’t find anywhere else.”

A decision was supposed to have been made by the planning committee a month ago, but councillors agreed to defer a decision, despite being largely against the contentious work, to give the developer extra time to answer questions despite representatives being sat in the room.

Ahead of the meeting, planning officers at the council had recommended the application should be given the green light.