Hereford is getting not one but two new tattoo studios.

A plan by to convert a disused first-floor office at 5-7 Eign Gate, on the corner with Broad Street and High Street, and remove an internal partition wall, was put forward by Anne Marriott of Forever Yours Tattoo Studio.

Herefordshire Council planning officer Simon Rowles judged that her proposal “would help to bring currently vacant office premises back into active use”.

With no official or public objections, the change of use raised “no significant transportation, ecology or built heritage issues”, nor would the council seek to limit the new studio’s opening hours, he concluded.

Central Hereford ward councillor Jeremy Milln did not object, but noted: “There is a tattoo parlour nearby at 40 Aubrey Street and an application has been submitted recently to convert 8 Wye Street into a tattoo parlour.”

But Mr Rowles noted: “The number of tattoo parlours within the city centre is not reason to withhold permission. The planning system is not intended to regulate competition and market forces.”

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This second, Wye Street bid, by George Masters of Skinzophrenic Tattoos for a disused office between the Old Bridge and Bishops Meadow, now also has the go-ahead to become a tattoo studio.

Planning officer Gemma Webster concluded his proposal would be “sustainable development” with “no impact upon the character and setting” of nearby heritage buildings within the city’s conservation area – though any internal alterations to the former ale storehouse “may require listed building consent”.

With no objections received from official consultees or from the public in this case either, she backed approval which was granted.

It appears the other tattoo studio in the city centre to which Coun Milln referred was the previous Skinzophrenic studio in Aubrey Street to the rear of Broad Street, which closed a year ago.

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