Flats plan approved for former Derby dance studio

Plans to convert a former Derby dance studio into flats have been approved.

RSF Property Investments Ltd has earmarked the building, in Lynton Street, for one five-bedroom flat and one four-bedroom flat over two floors.

Derby City Council had raised concerns about the size of the proposed bedrooms, set to be just over 15 sq m (161 sq ft).

The council’s planning officers said the 37 sq m (398 sq ft) national standards only applied for newly-built properties, and this application did not count as it was for a building designed for multiple occupation.

Councillor Carmel Ashby, who sits on the council’s planning committee, previously described the bedrooms as “shoebox” in size.

In documents lodged with the council, the developer said the building had been the home of the Derby Academy School of Dance, which has relocated to another part of the city, and was now “in a state of decay”.

It said its plan would rejuvenate the area and that it had reduced the total number of flats from the 11 it originally wanted to make the bedrooms bigger.

Councillor Jerry Pearce, who also sits on the planning committee, said: “We’ve persuaded the developer to change it slightly that has made it more amenable to us and hopefully to the residents going to be living there, more than anything.”

The plans were approved earlier this month and reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service on Wednesday.