A plan to turn a disused Herefordshire shop into a flat has got the go-ahead – nearly six years after it was put forward.

Local firm LDL Developments applied in October 2018 to convert what had been baby and children’s goods shop Peek-a-Boo at 29 South Street, Leominster.

Several previous businesses had “failed to perform well due to poor location and South Street being around 95 per cent residential occupancy”, a statement with the application explained.

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There are already flats on the first floor above the shop and its neighbour.

The two large shop windows, not original to the “Georgian-style” town house, were to be replaced with smaller sash windows matching those on the first floor along with a new front door.

A report by planning officer Adam Lewis explained that the original plan to also convert the neighbouring and unoccupied 31 South Street would mean bedrooms and other internal rooms having no natural light, leading to this part of the plan being dropped.

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No 31 will now remain in commercial use, with a new front door within its current shop window, while the existing door will be used to access the upstairs flats.

But the proposal, as with many others in the county, was held up by the legal obligation to demonstrate that it would not add to harm to local protected river systems.

This has now been overcome by the developer buying “phosphate credits” valued at £1,540 via an innovative scheme run by Herefordshire Council to overcome the problem.

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Mr Lewis concluded that the location “is clearly suitable to support the residential use proposed”, which would not harm the street scene or setting of nearby listed buildings.

And although the three bedrooms in the flat “would fall below the suggested sizes” set out in the national standards, these “have not been adopted by Herefordshire Council and hence do not form part of policy” he said.

Residents’ parking could be accommodated to the rear of the building, he added.