Daylight and bats prove key in Rugby town centre flats rejection

The plan for the Lawrence Sheriff in High Street would have seen the existing two upper floors given a further floor above, while the ground floor stayed as a pub.

But despite the rise in floors above shopfront level being converted to flats in the town centre – and an extra floor being approved elsewhere – this latest scheme has run into issues that were deemed sufficient to turn it down.

The application was to create a studio flat, five one-bed flats and six two-bed flats.

But in reaching the rejection decision, Rugby Borough Council’s officer highlighted four main reasons where the application did not meet existing policies.

The first was that, ‘The proposed development due to the design and layout would fail to provide adequate daylight and sunlight provision for the proposed flats. This would fail to provide a good standard and quality of internal space for the future occupiers, in turn failing to promote quality of life for users of the dwellings’.

Secondly, that, ‘The proposed development is located within the Rugby Town Centre Conservation Area and the property is an undesignated heritage asset providing a well-preserved example of a 1950s art deco style building.

‘The construction of an additional floor to the roof would adversely affect the setting and character of the heritage asset, failing to preserve or enhance it, and this would therefore have a material impact upon the visual amenity of the asset within the street scene’.

Thirdly, that, ‘The proposal would be detrimental to the neighbouring amenity of the residential flats to the rear of properties along Lawrence Sheriff Street’.

And, fourthly that a further survey of bats and nesting birds had not been submitted in line with guidelines and the relevant Act: ‘In failing to provide the further survey for bats and nesting birds, the application has failed to satisfy these obligations’.

The submitted report had suggested there was low potential for the building to support roosting bats.

Full details are available on the council’s planning portfolio, reference: R23/0207