PLANS to convert offices into six new flats in the heart of Andover have hit a stumbling block after a planning application was refused this month.

A previous application to build six flats at 16 Bridge Street had been accepted by Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) in November, last year.

However the accompanying documents only outlined plans for four of the six flats, with the remaining two units said to remain as ‘office accommodation’.

A subsequent application was later submitted in December, illustrating plans for the remaining two units - but these were rejected by the borough council last week.

The authority said that although the development would meet the criteria for the proposed change of use, it could not be accepted due to noise pollution issues its appropriateness for the location.

The most recent application relates to a pair of two-bedroom flats to, which were proposed to be built on the first and second floors, overlooking Bridge Street. The first floor unit would sit above an existing restaurant, Captain’s Mezze.

It was acknowledged in the plans that a 60dB sound reduction would need to be demonstrated to make the homes suitable for the location.

The applicant said this would be achieved through double glazed windows, changes to extractor fans, air conditioners and ventilation units, as well as new flooring in the domestic rooms above the restaurant.

It was also noted that the southern windows of the first floor unit above the resaturant would be “sealed closed”.

However an officer’s delegated report said deemed the risk of noise pollution, as well as other issues, too great to accept the application.

The councils’s refusal notice read: “Prior approval of the impacts of noise from commercial premises is required because the site adjoins a restaurant and is in close proximity to its associated plant.

“Approval is refused because the application does not demonstrate that future occupants would not be at risk of unacceptable levels of noise pollution, that the proposed change of use is appropriate for its location or that mitigation could avoid noise having a significant adverse impact on health and quality of life without potentially compromising the amenity of future occupants to an unacceptable level.

“The proposal is contrary to paragraphs 170 and 180 of the NPPF (Neighbourhood Policy Planning Framework).”

The latest application is the fourth to have been submitted in just over a year. One application for six flats was refused, another was withdrawn before a third was approved. The latest application for two flats is the fourth.