Old nursery building set to become apartments
NUMBER OF FLATS HALVED
PLANS to create flats in a building that was home to one of Loughborough’s most popular nurseries can go ahead – but only half the planned amount can be built without further permission.
HSSP Architects had asked Charnwood Borough Council if planning permission was needed for 10 flats, five each on the first and second floors of the Schofield Centre on Greenclose Lane in the town.
But following advice from planning officers, they withdrew the secondfloor flats from the application.
For 27 years, the building was home to the Small World Nursery on the first floor, which some parents described as “the best nursery in Loughborough” when staff announced its closure last year.
The nursery was founded by King’s Church, which also operated a food bank in the basement.
The food bank is still listed in planning documents as being in the basement, although the application also says the building has been vacant for more than three months.
Council planning officers have released a report confirming that converting the first floor into five flats would not require planning permission, as planning laws allow the change from commercial, business and service use (Class E) to residential use as long as certain conditions are met.
However, plans were withdrawn for the second floor by the developer “following concerns raised by officers that the lawful use of the second floor did not fall solely within use class E.’”
The planning report reads: “The building benefits from large windows on all external elevations with each unit benefitting from at least one large window to each room.
“These windows would provide good levels of daylight to the rooms on both sides of the building.
“The layout is arranged so that the main living areas and bedrooms would benefit from these large windows with good levels of daylight throughout the year.”
The report also says that plans for cycle storage in the building would not be considered “a material change of use”.