Laundrette plan re-emerges

A plan to convert a former sandwich shop into a laundrette and holiday flats has been put back on the table.

The once-rejected plan to turn former sandwich shop Scoffs in New Street into a new laundrette and short-term holiday lets will have to be re-examined by Worcester City Council after being put forward again by developer Delta Property.

The council’s planning committee rejected the application in August criticising its “cramped” rooms and for its potential in harming a listed building in an historic part of the city centre.

Delta Property also admitted the size of the rooms were below national standards, but as the council’s planning officers had previously advised, was “not considered an issue” because they were being used as holiday apartments rather than homes.

The developer also said the plan had been “significantly scaled back” after the rejection from the council and the new extension would only be built to match the recently-built neighbouring extension.

A statement included with the application said: “It is proposed that the small previous rear extension will be removed in its entirety due to its structural instability. This will be replaced at the first-floor level to provide a bathroom to the first-floor extension. This was a similar approach taken at the neighbouring property.

“On the ground floor, a rear, flat-roofed extension will provide an additional bedsit and will extend to be in line with the recently completed extension at 16 New Street.

“The first floor and second floor will largely remain unaltered with the exception of the removal of modern stud walls and the insertion of new stud walls to provide the required accommodation for each apartment.”

Council planning officers had said some of the rooms suffered from “poor amenity” but it was acceptable for them to be used as holiday apartments rather than permanent flats and had recommended the plan was approved.

The plan had gone through several changes since being submitted at the end of March with the original plan to convert the building into flats shifted to short-term holiday lets.

Cllr Andy Roberts said people coming to Worcester and staying in “shoeboxes” would be their lasting image of the city and Cllr Pat Agar said you would have to be a “cave dweller” to want to live in some of the window-less rooms.