Plans for 44 city apartments rejected by council

There have been several failed attempts to develop the site in Westlegate over the years

Plans to create dozens of homes above a string of city centre shops have been turned down.

Norwich City Council has rejected the latest bid to see a row of offices in Westlegate turned into more than 40 apartments.

There have been several attempts to develop the site over the years, with planning permission granted for the conversion of the office space into residential homes in 2020, but that permission has since expired.

Officials at City Hall now say the development is "poorly designed" and would offer a low standard of living for prospective residents.

The plans, lodged by developer JaeVee, sought to turn office space on the first, second and third floors of the row of shops into 44 flats, along with a newly-constructed upper floor comprising four penthouses with balconies.

Planning officers said the development would be "incongruous" with the surrounding area and would fail to provide a satisfactory standard of living due to a lack of natural light, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The building was bought by developer Estateducation in 2021 as part of a joint venture with JaeVee.

The office space been vacant since 2007.