LOCK-up garages in Leominster will be demolished to make way for houses.

Councillors granted planning permission for 10 homes to be built on land to the rear of Bargates and accessed from Westfield Walk.

The site is currently occupied by 40 lock-up garages and is within the Leominster Bargates Conservation Area.

There will be a terrace of five three-bedroom homes, a pair of two-storey, three-bedroom detached houses and a terrace of three one-bedroom properties.

A central parking courtyard will provide 15 spaces and each home will have its own cycle parking and bin storage area.

Herefordshire Council’s conservation manager said the current garages are of no architectural value and it was difficult to see how the development could fail to enhance the character and appearance of the area.

Leominster Town Council objected to the scheme on the grounds that it represents over-development and there is no provision of social housing.

Eight letters of objection were received with concerns raised about congestion and increased pollution along Bargates and the loss of the garages as a storage facility.