Parking fears may see Shrewsbury town centre flats plan blocked

A change of use application has been lodged with Shropshire Council for the first and second floors of Agriculture House in Barker Street.

Today, transport bosses said the plans should not be approved due to incomplete highways information and concerns over parking.

The applicant wants to switch the change the use from offices to residential, with the current Holland Broadbridge estate agency on the ground floor being unaffected.

And the application includes plans to extend the third floor of the building to allow for 10 apartments to be built in the currently unused office space.

It comes after previous plans to turn the second floor into a house of multiple occupation for students – which were approved after being submitted in 2014 – were shelved. There would have been 12 bedrooms.

Officials from Mouchel, acting on behalf of the local highways authority, have criticised the plans and said not enough details have been submitted to be able to make a technical assessment.

The report said: "As this is a full planning application it is considered that the submitted documents are currently insufficient to make an assessment.

"Revised or additional documents with full details of the precise plans along with any appropriate parking prediction demonstrated for this site should be submitted.

"The 2014 application stated five cycle parking spaces and no mention has been made on the Design and Access Statement of the 2016 application of cycle parking, nor any reference to occupancy without car ownership.

"Any future planning application should provide any and all details necessary to assist with the appropriate determination."