Plan to demolish GP surgery for homes approved

A project to demolish a former GP surgery in Leicester and build homes in its place has been approved.
The Saffron Lane scheme has been given the go ahead despite three applications being refused by the city council since 2021.
The approved plans are for two three-bed semi-detached houses at the front of the site and a two-storey block featuring four one-bed flats.
The last application was rejected by Leicester City Council in December 2023, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.
The reasons for refusal included the design of the building, living standards for future residents, a lack of storage space in one of the homes, poor outdoor communal space and issues of privacy for the future occupants.
The majority of the concerns related to flat block A, which would have been at the front of the site.
Developer APKA removed that building from its plans in the most recent submission in August last year.
Planning officers have now deemed the scheme to be acceptable, adding it is for "residential use in a residential part of the city", the LDRS said.
It added the GP surgery had been closed "for a long time" so there would be "no loss" to the community from its demolition.
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