Plans to turn historic building into flats rejected again due to ‘poor design’

Plans to convert a historic town centre building into flats have been turned down once again due to noise worries and a “contrived” design.At the beginning of the year, Gain Spvkl Ltd’s plans to convert former offices into four flats on the first and second floors of Bishops Lynn House on the Tuesday Market Place were rejected by West Norfolk Council.However, the developer submitted an altered application to the authority in August, instead asking for permission for the former office space to be converted into three flats.

However, the borough council has rejected the proposals yet again as they are “not considered to be acceptable”.Conservation officers warned that the plans for the Grade II-listed building were lacking in detail, and The Norfolk and Fens Cycling Campaign claimed that the storage facilities on offer for bikes was inadequate.While borough council planning officers accepted that losing office space would not harm employment opportunities in Lynn, they were concerned that the flats would not be spacious enough. “Whilst there are no space standards for shower rooms or kitchens, it is questionable whether the spaces proposed are sufficient in size to accommodate facilities one would expect in such rooms,” their report said.It added: “It therefore must be concluded that the proposed development would result in a poor-quality form of accommodation offering poor amenity to its occupants as a result of the proposed design.” The previous application was also refused due to the planned accommodation being “small, cramped and in some instances lacking appropriate natural light as a result of poor design”.The council had expressed concerns about noise generated from town centre events, such as Festival Too, and the impact this would have on people living in the flats.A noise assessment was therefore requested as part of the recent application – but although one was submitted, it was deemed “not fit for purpose”. “The proposed conversion from offices to flats would provide accommodation that is considered small, with a contrived layout which based on the information submitted is not deliverable, as a result of poor design,” officers’ report said.“The development does not optimise the potential of the site and would not provide a good standard of amenity for future residents.“Insufficient information has been submitted with the application to satisfy the Local Planning Authority that occupiers of the proposed development would not be unacceptably affected by noise or if mitigation that might address such impacts would be acceptable in terms of their impact on the form and fabric of the listed building.“The proposed development would result in less than substantial harm to a designated heritage asset… that is not outweighed by the public benefit by not respecting the original form, plan or layout of the historic, grand, interior living space.”