Student housing scheme in Chester refused

A PROPOSAL to convert a former school into 85 student properties in Chester has been refused by Cheshire West and Chester Council.

The developer, George Street Projects Ltd, had planned to refurbish and extend the George Street Centre – most recently used as an office – on the fringe of the recently-approved Gorse Stacks site being developed by Welsh firm Watkin Jones.

Its plans involved adding a three-storey extension to the side of the current building and a four-storey extension at the rear, which would have been linked to the main building via a glass walkway.

A spokesperson for Cheshire West & Chester Council said the application was refused as it ran “contrary to the provision of  G3 of the Chester District Local Plan”.

She added that the proposed use of student accommodation would have had “a detrimental impact” on nearby residential accommodation, largely as a result of increased noise and disturbance.

It is the second time that a proposal for student properties on the land has been refused in the past 12 months, with an earlier development for 92 student properties being rejected in March last year. The council’s planning officers had recommended that the latest scheme was approved, however, stating that the designs were “considered to contribute positively to the quality and local distinctiveness of the area”.

George St Projects is a Liverpool-based company run by developer Michael Goodwin and McHugh Stoppard director Stephen McHugh.