A SCHEME to build a block of flats on the site of a Victorian convent in Ross-on-Wye has been thrown out.

The plan would have also involved demolishing an extension built in the 1970s and replacing it with a three-storey block of eight two-bedroomed flats.

Planners considered the scheme in May but delayed a decision to allow a site visit to the area in Walford Road.

A conservation report had commended the proposal as "well considered" and supported, provided the correct materials were used for the work. Herefordshire Council planning officials had also recommended approval.

But seven letters of objection were received, one of them describing the flats as unattractive, mundane, shoebox-like, eastern European in appearance and of nil architectural merit.

Ross-on-Wye town council was also against the scheme, describing it as out of keeping with the neighbouring properties and conservation area. The council also pointed out that the proposed flats were next to a social club that held regular late night functions.

Planning officials said the impact on the conservation area was important but considered that the flats were acceptable.

However, members of Herefordshire Council's southern area planning committee rejected the officers' recommendation and turned down the scheme.