Planning permission has been granted for the office building at Stewart House, on Primett Road in Stevenage, to be converted into flats.
There will be 21 flats in the building, including 11 one-bedroom units and 10 two-bedroom units.
The building has been “vacant for a considerable period of time” according to the council, during which time it was “unsuccessfully marketed for office use”. The offices were last occupied in January by The Follett Office Ltd, and have been empty since then.
At a meeting on Tuesday, October 4, Stevenage Borough Council’s Planning and Development Committee approved the development, which will include the building of an extension.
The proposed changes first came before the Committee at a meeting last month.
In the report provided to the committee by council planning officers, it was stated that the proposed development would make “a modest contribution to the aim of boosting housing supply through the redevelopment of sustainable brownfield sites” and that this was “a benefit which attracts significant weight in favour of the proposal".
The report also stated that the development “would benefit the local economy by providing construction jobs and increasing population density on the edge of the High Street Shopping Area".
However, the report did note that “the development would not provide any affordable housing, which is required for major residential schemes” and “the proposal is therefore contrary to … the Local Plan".
The building is within the Old Town High Street Conservation Area, and the report stated that “the proposal would also result in some harm to the character and appearance of the area".
Comparing the relative advantages and disadvantages of the proposal, the report provided to the committee concluded that: “The significant benefits of delivering 21 dwellings are considered to outweigh the less than substantial harm to the conservation area, the moderate harm to the character and appearance of the area, and the very limited adverse impacts relating to affordable housing.
“The proposal is therefore considered to be in accordance with the development plan when read as a whole.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here