Plans for five studio flats in a Herefordshire town centre have been given the go-ahead.
Ross-on-Wye resident Ian Power sought permission in spring last year for the newbuild to the rear of Albion Chambers, with access off Old Gloucester Road within the town’s central conservation area.
It was essentially a resubmission of a previous scheme approved in 2019 which had since lapsed.
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The three-storey building was be of red brick with a pitched slate roof to fit in with the neighbourhood.
The ground and first floor flats were to each have an internal area of 38.35 square metres, just above the national minimum space standard of 37 sq m, while the single second-floor flat would cover 49.45 sq m.
The intended occupants would not be car owners and indeed would be prevented from applying for parking permits “in perpetuity”, a statement with the application said.
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Herefordshire Council’s housing development officer Colette Cutter backed Mr Power’s bid, “as there is a need for these size properties in Ross-on-Wye”.
But senior building conservation officer Conor Ruttledge objected that the scheme would harm the setting of the nearby grade II* listed Walter Scott Charity School, which now houses defence tech firm Kirintec, as well as the wider conservation area.
Ross-on-Wye town council also objected to the “overdevelopment” of the site and associated loss of car parking, which it said went against local planning policy.
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These views were not enough to sway planning officer Joshua Evans, who considered the proposed building “would not appear out of character with the surrounding built form” and that the “significant public benefits associated with the scheme” outweighed any heritage harm.
The parking spaces to be lost were anyway “not for public use” while there is “public car park provision locally”, Mr Evans added.
Full planning permission was granted.
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