COUNCILLORS are set to give the green light to plans for an apartment block on the car park at Talisman Square in Kenilworth.
Members of Warwick District Council’s planning committee will consider the proposal for 43 apartments submitted by Cobalt Estates Limited when they meet on Wednesday (October 11).
And councillors are recommended to grant the proposal despite a host of objections from residents, as well as Kenilworth Town Council.
The application seeks planning permission for the erection of an ‘L-shaped’ five storey building to provide 43 apartments and two units for business and commercial use. The proposed building would be located on the existing temporary car park within Talisman Square.
A two storey, flat roofed building adjacent to Station Road would be demolished to make way for the development.
The business units would be positioned on the ground floor along with a two bedroom flat, bin store, plant room, cycle store and access point to the upper floors.
The upper floors would provide a mixture of one, two and three bedroom apartments.
A car parking area with 21 spaces would be provided behind the building, accessed from Station Road. A further 14 car parking spaces are proposed adjacent to Waitrose to the south of Talisman Square.
The proposal has been slightly reduced in scale at the fourth floor at the northern end of the building in order to reduce the impact of the bulk and mass of the building.
Kenilworth Town Council has objected to the proposal as members do not believe it harmonises with the surrounding buildings and is still too great in mass. They have also raised strong concerns about parking for prospective residents and point out there are no plans to include affordable housing.
There have been 143 letters of objection from residents.
Concerns include the design being too large for the site and out of character for the area, the impact it will have on nearby Grade II listed buildings The King’s Arms and the Castle Hotel, and the detrimental impact it could have on privacy.
Concern was also raised over the poor outlook the proposed apartments will have over the car park, while other residents said it would add to existing “parking stress” and traffic congestion and constitute a loss of community space. There were also fears about the loss of car park impacting on traders in the town.
Planning officers are recommending councillors grant the application as they believe the design and scale of the development is acceptable and will add to the vitality of the town centre.
