PLANS to convert a grade II listed building in Newport city centre into 11 flats have been give the go-ahead.

The Seren Group plans to create 10 two-bedroom flats and one one-bedroom flat in the four-storey French Renaissance style building at 27 to 29 High Street and 11 Griffin Street.

The upper storeys of the building, last used as commercial offices and leisure space, were originally built as homes over shops.

The project is the first phase of a development of the entire block between Griffin Street and Skinner Street and forms part of Newport City Council’s Vibrant and Viable Places (VPP) programme, which aims to revitalise the city centre.

The council has been successful in securing £14.98 million from Welsh Government as part of their VVP program over three years which will be used to increase the number of residential units in the city centre.

Rift and Co, the owners of Revolution bar and nightclub, wrote to the council objecting to the proposal over concerns that changes would be made to the bar’s licence, which would have a detrimental impact.

They said: “Our business viability would be at significant risk if changes to our operation were imposed, should complaints by the new residential development be upheld in regard to noise.”

At Wednesday’s committee meeting, councillor Miqdad Al-Nuaimi said: “I really welcome this. Any application that seeks to bring people to live in the city centre is a welcome application.

“I believe it also offers affordable houses so that’s another good point.

“They are affordable places, we want people to live there, enjoy it and therefore not to find it so hard because of the noise, which is not just traffic noise but entertainment places.”

Councillor David Fouweather said: “I will support the application, I think it’s important for the city centre but we have to take it into consideration that these people have cars.

“As we move on with these plans, we need to be supplying parking provision especially if we’re looking at units where families are going to be living.”

The plans show five of the flats will be accessed from the ground floor on the Griffin Street elevation and the remainder from a door on the High Street.