A plan to turn town centre offices into flats has been refused for a fourth time in two years.
Watford Borough Council had already rejected proposals to change the building's use from offices to residential at 41 Market Street, Watford, three times since November 2021.
On Tuesday (April 11) the council added another refusal to the tally as it said two of the nine proposed flats fail to provide a large enough internal floor area for one adult.
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“The failure to meet nationally described space standard is unacceptable,” the planning officer said, recommending refusal.
The council added that the application fails to justify adequate light in all of the habitable rooms and would exacerbate demand of on-street parking in an area that already experiences parking problems.
It was also not convinced that the applicant, property developers Zunikh, had demonstrated what previous uses for the building had been.
The borough council says it does not grant permission for any homes smaller than 37 square metres, roughly two and a half parking spaces.
Zunikh has been contacted for comment. Update to follow.
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