Plans have been approved to turn parts of three prominent Hereford buildings into flats.

The application to partly convert 79, 81 and 83 Widemarsh Street beside the Garrick multi-storey car park was submitted by Biddle, a developer based at the property.

Numbers 79 and 81 are late-18th century town houses, later combined into a single commercial premises, while the later number 83, dating from the mid-19th century, was formerly the vicarage for the All Saints church.

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The three are not heritage listed and are just outside the city’s conservation area.

There were no objections to Biddle’s plan from official consultees, nor from the city council or residents.

Planning officer Simon Rowles concluded that the proposal “would boost the availability of modestly-sized accommodation within a sustainable, central location, without detriment to the local environs”.

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All three flats will be single-bedroom, two being on the first floor with access from both front and back, the third being over two floors to the rear with its own access.

Under the plans, the off-white render on the front of numbers 79 and 81 will be replaced, as will the first-floor windows on no 83, described as in a poor state of repair.

A two-storey rear extension, said in the application to be poorly constructed and undermining the foundations of no 83, is to be demolished.

The properties have vehicle access from Blackfriars Street to the rear, where three car parking and six bike spaces will be created.