A FORMER OFFICE could become a group of flats if a planning application is approved by the local council. 

Newport City Council has received an application to turn the upper floors of a building at 31-34 Commercial Street into 16 affordable apartments. 

The application proposes to turn each of the first, second and third floors and loft conversion into flats, including extending the roof space. 

According to the covering letter written by agent Daniel Williams of WSP on behalf of the applicant, a Mr Parviz Emani, the proposal is four 10 one-bedroom apartments and six two-bedroom apartments. 

All of the relevant documentation and reports have been provided, which have noted that the building is a "locally important" site, and, despite not being listed, is in the "vicinity of listed buildings". 

The covering letter has mentioned that a previous application for 16 flats in November 2023 was refused, with the reason given as concerns "related to the amenity of future occupiers, specifically regarding privacy and outlook". 

The council "judged that sufficient levels of amenity were not provided in the case of the previous application, due to the level of intervisibility between habitable rooms in separate dwellings". 

As a result of this feedback, the plans have been amended in the internal layout of the flats, to ensure a "high level of amenity" for any future occupants, ensuring it is now fully in line with the Newport Local Development Plan.

The proposal had previously been deemed "acceptable in principle" with the only outstanding issue having been "robustly addressed" by the applicant before submitting a new application. 

Any other potential issues such as how any disturbances to both the environment and the public "can be effectively mitigated" and how the development will be "sustainably accessible" have both been strongly discussed within the planning considerations section of the application, including the note that the site is in a "highly sustainable" location. 

The heritage, design, parking and highways considerations are also put out in detail in the full application, with the majority of the previous expert assessments still standing. 

The former offices had been previously auctioned off by Paul Fosh Auctions, with the final price not disclosed. 

If you would like to view the full application and any documents associated, you can do so on the Newport City Council planning site using the reference number 24/0010.