Plans for two six-storey blocks of apartments to replace Rugby office block move a step closer

Plans to build two six-storey blocks of apartments on the site of town centre offices in Rugby have moved a step forward – but councillors remain concerned over the details.

Myson House, Railway Terrace, Rugby, is a largely unused six-storey office complex that sits less than half a kilometre from the town centre and Rugby’s railway station.

Owners and applicants Stepnell Developments occupy the ground floor but plan to move out, demolish the building and replace it with two blocks of one and two-bedroom apartments.

The request for outline planning permission – which deals with the principle of the development but not the detail of how it will come together – was brought before Rugby Borough Council’s planning committee because it is deemed a major development.

The decision was delayed in June over concerns related to highways, matters which are handled by Warwickshire County Council. A highways officer was due to attend but Carolyn Forster, the borough’s interim legal and governance manager, informed councillors that they were “unavoidably unavailable” to attend Wednesday's meeting.

Matters such as the layout of the site, the scale and appearance of the buildings and access and landscape issues will be considered at a later date through another application, although indicative proposals show more than 100 apartments.

Councillor Belinda Garcia (Con, Revel & Binley Woods), concerned that the report highlighted how "room sizes indicated on the plans are smaller than national space standards", questioned whether councillors would get to run the rule over those issues and was told only if they requested to.

Planning officer Lucy Davison said: “Reserved matters applications, through our scheme of delegation, currently do not come before the committee.

“However, once the application is received by the authority, it is consulted on and councillors have the opportunity to request the application to be brought (for a decision by the committee).”

Councillor Neil Sandison (Lib Dem, Eastlands) said it was “a shame we only have half the story”.

“Air quality is quite an important issue which will undoubtedly affect the people in these dwellings, just as it already affects people within the locality," he said.

“I think it is quite important we recognise that any large-scale development in the area is going to have an impact on air quality and model shift in terms of pedestrians, cyclists and bus and car use in that vicinity.

“The rather perverse thing is that we are going to give more money to the health service, is that to help cure all the people who will have heart and respiratory conditions because they are in a poor air quality zone?”

Ms Davison’s report acknowledged that “the development is not considered to be air quality neutral and in addition requires an air quality assessment”.

However, in response to Cllr Sandison’s comments, she pointed out planning conditions that “incorporate measures to improve air quality to control on-site emissions", including the use of ultra-low emission boilers and potential mitigations including electric heating, solar panels, heat pumps, cycle parking, electric vehicle charging, landscaping, and green walls and roofing.