Listed office building to be converted into homes despite worries about noise from town centre events

A listed office building will be transformed into two residential properties despite concerns about the noise coming from Lynn town centre events.

Silver Fern Property Management Company has been granted permission to convert 14A Tuesday Market Place into dwellings by West Norfolk Council.

The Grade II-listed building has been housing an office space for around 70 years, but is currently vacant. Planning officers felt that a “small loss of offices is considered acceptable in this circumstance” as it will help the borough council’s aim to provide at least 1,000 dwellings as part of the regeneration of the town centre.

Previous efforts to offer the premises out to businesses have been unsuccessful because the interior is “dated and dark and not suitable for modern office use”.

No external changes to the front of the building will be made, although a 20th century conservatory structure to the rear will be demolished.

Plans were given the green light last week. However, the Community Safety and Neighbourhood Nuisance (CSNN) group objected to them because it feels the applicant has not shown that anybody who lives in the building will be “protected” from noise generated in the vicinity.

The group says this could be generated from “the numerous public events held on the Tuesday Market Place, or the traffic noise from one of the main routes through the town, or from the car park, or from the late night businesses located within the square, or from the wood yard to the rear left”.

A statement said: “As they are proposing to introduce residential dwellings into a predominantly commercial area of the town centre, we would argue that they need to prove that the existing (and future) noise climate will not impact on residential amenity.

“The applicant hasn’t provided any background noise details or sufficiently demonstrated that the proposed dwellings will offer a decent standard of living for future occupiers.

“The events held on the Tuesday Market Place are very significant to this proposal, the largest being The Mart and Festival Too. Whilst these events usually conclude at 11pm it must be appreciated that the noise and vibrations these events generate can have a significant adverse impact throughout the day, before 11pmn.

“CSNN have recorded complaints from residents along King Street relating to noise and vibrations due to events held on the Tuesday Market Place – these homes are some distance from the Tuesday Market Place and do not even have a direct line of sight.”

Despite this, no objections were raised by conservation officers, highways officials, Environmental Quality, or waste and recycling teams.

Responding to the CSNN concerns, planning officers said that policy at both local and national level encourages a mix of uses in town centres.

They added: “By choosing to move to such a central location, residents are to expect a level of vibrancy and the level of associated noise.

“It is not considered reasonable to resist this application on the basis of the proximity to the marketplace whereby regular events are held.”