Flats scheme turned down again
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PLANS to turn the upper floors of a furniture shop into two houses of multiple occupation have been refused.
Sheffield Council’s west and north planning board rejected the scheme above Stocksbridge Furnishing, Manchester Road, Stocksbridge.
Councillors on the board said the planned flats were ‘not acceptable in the 21st Century’ and lacked basic amenities.
Nineteen residents had objected, along with city and town councillors.
Councillors on the planning board decided against planning officers’ recommendation to grant permission because they felt the flats, which would have had shared washing and cooking facilities and no reception rooms, would be too small.
Members of the board were also worried about the lack of an emergency fire escape.
Neighbouring residents had voiced concerns about the type of residents who would be housed in the building - with worries it could be used as a bail hostel.
They also said the two parking spaces proposed for up to 12 residents were insufficient.
Councillors voted unanimously to refuse permission.
One board member, Burngreave Labour councillor, Ibrar Hussain, said: “Living conditions must be satisfactory and I cannot vote for this.”
Chris Lambert, a neighbouring resident who objected and attended yesterday’s planning meeting, said: “We have got what we came for.”
But Patrick Metcalf, who owns the building, said: “The application had been revised to take into account concerns about previous plans which were refused. I plan to appeal the decision.”
The scheme was previously refused planning permission in August last year, when approval was sought to turn the building into three houses.
Permission was not granted on the grounds that development would be an ‘over-intensive use of the building’, amd that lower ground floor accommodation would provide inadequate living conditions for future occupiers, due to lack of sufficient daylight.
Residents also complained that extra windows proposed as part of the scheme would ‘overlook’ surrounding homes.
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Saturday 18 May 2013
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