Planning permission has been granted for Lichfield’s former library to be converted into apartments.
The proposals for the The Friary building will see 21 properties created and a 24 space car park, with later extensions at the rear set to be demolished.
The Grade Two Listed building was constructed in the 1920s as part of the Lichfield Friary Grammar School before later becoming Lichfield College and the library.
A meeting of Lichfield District Council’s planning committee approved the changes at a meeting this week, despite objections from Lichfield Civic Society.
Bernice Eisner, speaking on behalf of the society, said:
“My main consideration with this particular application is the fact that most of the problems that the civic society see on this application arise from the fact they want 21 units.
“It is therefore suggested to this committee not that they reject the application entirely, but they ask the applicant to go back to the drawing board and reduce the number of units, so they don’t have to have habitable residential dwellings in the roof space and don’t have to have paving on what is currently a green attractive area.”
Bernice Eisner, Lichfield Civic Society
Concerns over the cost of managing the building saw it sold off by Staffordshire County Council in 2017 after the library was moved to a new site at The Hub at St Mary’s.
The plans put forward by Worcestershire-based GR8Space (Library) Limited were recommended for approval by planning officers. Internal modifications will be made to the building to accommodate residential use along with the demolition of later extensions which were added in the 1960s and 1990s.
Speaking on behalf of Worcestershire-based GR8Space (Library Limited), planning agent Martin Mence told the council committee:
“It is now essential to provide a viable and sustainable long term use for the building to secure its future.
“Any proposed development will have to deal with the practical constraints of the site and respond sensitively to the listed building and the context of the surrounding area.
“The proposed development will provide, we feel, a sustainable new use, which is sensitive to the character of the existing building and its setting and will preserve it for future generations.”
Martin Mence
Councillors raised concerns over the lack of affordable housing in the development, but planning officers said that because the building has been empty the vacant building credit calculation means that no affordable housing needs to be delivered.
Planning committee chairman Cllr Thomas Marshall said that the age of the building was a consideration.
“It is an application that is controversial – I understand the reasons for that, but at the same time I think the preservation of this delightful building which dates back about a hundred years now has to be taken into consideration.”
Cllr Thomas Marshall, Lichfield District Council
The application was passed unanimously by councillors.
