PLANS to convert a Winchester hostel into new flats have been refused by the city council.

The application, submitted by Dominic Ormonroyd, wanted to convert the hostel, in City Road, into six new flats.

Winchester City Council planning officer's report said that it would have a negative impact on neighbouring properties and that it would fail to preserve the character of the area.

The building has been through multiple uses in its life. In 1994, it had a change of use from shop to office, on the ground floor, and office to residential, on the first and second floor, to provide five bed-sitting rooms.

The report said: "The application site is located in a prominent position at the corner of City Road and Sussex Street within the Winchester Conservation Area.

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"While the removal of the more recent rear roof is considered an enhancement to the character of the area, the proposed balconies are considered to result in additional clutter to the rear elevation of the building to the detriment of the conservation area.

"The proposed development will be visible from the neighbouring properties to the south and east of the application site. It is not considered that the proposal would have a detrimental impact on the residential amenities of the eastern neighbours due to the layout of the neighbouring property. The property to the south is a block of flats, 1-3 Sussex Street, with two windows that directly face the application site and the proposed balconies that serve key habitable rooms. The proposed balconies would be approximately 6m from the neighbouring property to the south with direct views into the neighbouring property's personal spaces. Due to this proximity and affected areas, the relationship is considered to be adversely harmful."

The City of Winchester Trust submitted a neutral comment to the city council, but said: "A more carefully checked application would have been helpful eg the D&A Heritage Statement referred at one point to this being a 'mid-war'(?) period building and then to it being late-Victorian. We could not find any front, City Road elevations; documents named as such were side elevations. The elevations were labelled 'proposed' as the heading of the document and then 'existing' on the document."