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Former office block in Wolverhampton to become 44 apartments

An empty former office block in the heart of Wolverhampton city centre has been given the go-ahead to be transformed into 44 brand new apartments.

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George House in the city will become apartments. Photo: Google StreetView.

A planning application to convert George House, in St John’s Square, into residential dwellings has been made to the city council by Tom Mann, of Evans Mann Properties Limited.

The three-storey building, on the corner of Bond Street, was bought by the Wolverhampton-based developers for £755,000 in March last year.

In a planning statement issued by DC Architectural Design which accompanies the application, agent Daniel Crann said: “The existing property has 22 car parking spaces which we are maintaining.

"We feel there will be a reduction in impact on the highways as there will be less people living at the proposed residential development than there were working/visiting the building when it was in use as offices.

"Generally, people who live in a city centre do not have a car and will use public transport. The proposed development is in an ideal location to access public transport."

In terms of noise impact, the report said the precedence had already been set by the neighbouring property to George House, which was already in use for residential purposes.

Insulated

"The surrounding area is a mix of office, residential property and a church. There is a public house, which has now closed down, located further west on the opposite side of Bond Street," it added.

"However, if this was open we still feel it would have very little impact on residents. All of the external walls, party walls and party floors will be insulated thermally and acoustically to meet the requirements of building regulations."

The report said there were no known ground contamination or flood risks relating to the site.

Wolverhampton Council planning authority said that a request for prior approval by the developers was not required as they had provided sufficient information relevant to the proposal.

No objections to the plans were received.

The premises measures 11,650 sq ft and overlook St John’s Church, which is a short walk away from the city centre’s main shopping area.