WAVERLEY planners have dismissed fresh plans to convert the much-loved former cafe The Barn in Old Kiln Yard off West Street into a one bedroom home.

The Barn, which served as a live music and art venue as well as a vegetarian cafe during its short lifespan, closed in 2014 shortly before the opening of the adjacent Poundland.

Its new owners gained planning permission to change the use of the first floor of the building from ‘shop/cafe’ to ‘residential’ in 2015.

However, this is yet to be implemented, and two further applications to convert both the first and ground floors into separate one-bedroom bedsits have since been refused - the latest, concerning the ground floor only, on August 14 this year.

Explaining the decision, Waverley’s case officer Rachel Kellas said the loss of the cafe would be “acceptable” but criticised the “poor standard of accommodation” proposed - with the total floor area of the bedsit measuring just 344 square feet.

She concluded: “By virtue of the small internal floor areas for the ground floor flat, the poor level of light and outlook to this flat, and the absence of any bin storage, the proposal would fail to provide a satisfactory standard of accommodation.”