Plans to create four bedsits on a busy Hereford street have been refused, on the grounds they would be “unacceptably cramped”.

Eign Street Ltd of Birmingham had applied to convert a vacant, “unviable” flat above the former Munch Inn on Eign Gate to create four flats, each of one bedroom, for individuals on low incomes.

Hereford City Council strongly opposed the plan, considering it “a clear example of overdevelopment, with cramped and untenable bedrooms offering little in the way of adequate living conditions”.

And it noted a lack of information in the application on bin and bike storage – “something which is highly relevant given the property’s location”.

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Herefordshire Council’s environmental health officer Mary Paske also raised concerns over the size of the rooms, as well as fire safety, noise, waste storage, damp and heating.

Edward Deacon, agent for the developer, contested these points, saying the national size standard “is only relevant to a one-bedroom apartment” not to studio or bedsit apartments, for which there are “no nationally described space standards”.

Sound testing would ensure none of the flats will be exposed to noise nuisance from the shop below or from the each other, and there would be a “dedicated internal area” for waste storage.

As for fire safety, the proposal would be an improvement on the “currently unsatisfactory and dangerous configuration”. Windows would be accessible and openable, and the building’s insulation and air-tightness would be upgraded to meet building regulations, Mr Deacon said.

However, planning officer Simon Rowles rejected the bid, solely on the basis of the apartments’ “unacceptably cramped and oppressive living conditions”.

He suggested the developer consider instead a layout of two two-bedroom flats on each floor, which “is more likely to gain officer support”.

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