Bids to turn Stafford office building into flats rejected
Two bids to turn a massive office building in Stafford into living space have both been rejected by a planning inspector.
Stafford Borough Council refused to grant prior approval for conversion of Victoria Park House into living space and a second application for an upward extension of the five-storey building to create apartments.
Victoria Park House overlooks the park next to Stafford Railway Station and and dates back to the 1970s. More than 40 one and two bedroom flats were proposed in the change of use.
Plans for a two storey vertical extension to create more flats were also put forward, but later revised to a single storey addition. The application was recommended for refusal by council planning officers and thrown out because it was considered “a visually top-heavy addition to the existing building which would consequently unbalance the composition and rhythm of the principal facade of the building facing Victoria Park within the Stafford Conservation Area.”
The change of use application was rejected by the council because of concerns about noise from nearby commercial premises affecting future residents. Both proposals also met with objections from members of the public.
Applicant Vinesh Aggarwal appealed against both decisions. A statement produced as part of the change of use appeal said: “Sufficient evidence was provided to the council at application stage to demonstrate that noise from commercial premises would not result in an unacceptable noise environment for future residential occupiers at the site.
“Rather, the evidence before the council clearly established that the dominant noise sources surrounding the appeal site related to the adjacent road traffic and railway activity, and not that of the surrounding commercial premises. As such, Prior Approval should have been granted by the council in respect of noise impacts, and in accordance with the expert advice of the council’s own Environmental Health Officer.
A statement produced as part of the extension appeal said: “We consider the proposed development to represent an entirely appropriate, subordinate and architecturally sympathetic addition to Victoria Park House. The proposed storey relates well to the general proportions and fenestration of the non-descript host building.”
But the planning inspector ruled in favour of the council. Their decision notice stated: “The main issues are the effect of the proposed upward extension on the external appearance of the building, bearing in mind its location adjacent to the revised Stafford Town Centre Conservation Area, and the effect of the proposed development on the living conditions of the intended future occupiers of the new dwellinghouses with particular regard to noise from commercial premises.
“Although the impacts from noise from any commercial premises would not adversely affect the intended occupiers of the new dwellinghouses, I have found the external appearance of the building would not be acceptable.”
