PLANS to turn the upper floors of one of Bradford city centre’s grandest buildings into bedsits have been refused.

The Grade II listed former Natwest building on Hustlergate was part of a planning application, submitted in April to create a house in multiple occupation.

But now the plans have been refused by Bradford Council, with officers raising concerns that the layout would give some residents “unrestricted views” of other residents bedroom windows, and without access to bins.

The planning application was to convert a section of the first and second floor of the building, No 24 Bank Street and Nos 8 and 10 Piece Hall Yard, from office space to a house of multiple occupation. It would have seen this area divided into eight bedsits with shared bathroom and kitchen facilities.

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The application was submitted by Withernsea Investments, which runs a number of city centre pubs, including City Vaults. It said the accommodation created could be used by staff at these other businesses.

The main banking hall was not part of the application – and is being marketed as a retail or commercial space.

Planning officers acknowledged that the plans would “bring an unused building back into use in the heart of the city centre,” but raised concerns about the living conditions of people would would eventually live in the new bedsits.

They said: “Bedroom 6 and 7 on the second floor would have windows which face into the existing light well. Habitants of both bedrooms would have a complete and unrestricted view into the other bedroom. In addition to this, the light well is only 6.5 metres in width, which falls short of the recommended distances to prevent overlooking at close quarters.”

They questioned the arrangements for waste in the HMO. There are no bins included in the plans – the application says a cleaner will maintain the communal areas and take rubbish from the HMO to another site nearby behind City Vaults. Officers said: “There is doubt that this arrangement would be suitable. Waste bins which serve the property should be within the curtilage of the building and accessible to occupants.”

After news that the plans had been refused, a spokesman for Bradford Civic Society said: “Following this decision, we welcome the opportunity for the applicant to look again at how this landmark building is used.

“Bradford Civic Society has never objected to the general idea of converting the upper floors of 10 Piece Hall Yard for residential use, however we did have serious concerns about the nature of the proposed accommodation. These concerns were shared by many members of the public, who got in touch to make their views known.

“The planning report makes it clear that elements of the proposed residential conversion would not meet some standards of personal privacy, security, and waste management.

“We believe that high standards of accommodation and personal living space have become more important than ever, and we question the role of HMOs and studio flats in modern society.”