'Ugly' 1970s office block to be turned into apartments in Altrincham town centre

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Plans to convert an "ugly" 1970s office block in Altrincham town centre into 68 apartments have been approved. The scheme will see the mainly vacant Clarendon House joined with a separate former library building, each with the addition of two more storeys.

That will make the former library five storeys high while Clarendon House will be nine. Trafford's planning and development management committee gave the plan the go-ahead "subject to appropriate conditions".

These are that 45 per cent of the scheme is an affordable housing scheme, comprising 31 homes. The applicant Citihaus - a company set up by the directors of Manchester-based developer Factory Estates - must also make a financial contribution of £257,128 towards the provision of primary and secondary school places.

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Citihaus must also begin the development on Stamford New Road within the next three years. The scheme includes new windows, cladding, balconies, alterations to shopfronts and a new entrance lobby at ground level, parking and landscaping.

Planning officers told the committee in documents that the development is considered to result in "minor harm" to the neighbouring Station Hotel and 42 Stamford New Road and also to Stamford New Road Conservation Area and negligible harm to Old Market Place Conservation Area. But they went on to say: "However, it is considered that the public benefits of the scheme would outweigh the level of harm identified."

And they added: "The council cannot demonstrate a five-year housing land supply thus the presumption in favour of sustainable development applies and the titled balance is engaged. When the tilted balancing exercise is carried