A bid to build a new three-storey apartment block near Preston city centre has been rejected.
The proposed development would have seen an existing, vacant building – on Beech Street South – flattened and replaced.
The current property is two storeys high and contains just two apartments, whereas its taller replacement would have accommodated four residences – a studio and one-bed flat on the ground floor, a three-bed apartment on the first floor and a two-bed home on the top level.
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However, Preston City Council planning officers refused permission for the scheme as a result of concerns over the proposed roof for the premises.
In a report outlining the reasons for their decision, they said that the scale and size of the building were not in themselves considered harmful to the street scene.
However, the officials said that the so-called ‘mansard roof’ – a multi-sided hip roof featuring two slopes on each of its sides – would “appear unduly prominent and dominant” on a structure of the size proposed.
The report added: “The proposed development would be visible to the public realm and by virtue of its design would not be in keeping with the residential properties in the area. It is considered that the proposed three storey building would have an adverse detrimental impact upon the visual amenity of the immediate area.”
Town hall planners also found that the property “would not mitigate and reduce flooding or ensure adequate drainage measures on site”.
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