PLANS to complete the transformation of a Chester city centre building have moved one step closer.

Cheshire West and Chester Council has given permission for the conversion of the lower floors of Royal House, on Northgate Street, into office space and a new coffee shop.

Work is already well under way on creating 16 one-bed luxury apartments on the upper floors of the building, after permission was granted for that in 2020 and Blueoak Estates purchased the site.

The site was most recently, on the ground floor, home to a student housing marketing suite and a virtual reality experience centre.

Applicants MF Architecture said: "The application seeks change of use to the basement and ground floor levels to create serviced offices at basement and ground floor level and also a coffee kiosk at ground floor level, separate from the proposed residential use above, with separate accesses and facilities.

"The impact that the change of use will have will be a positive one, with the use of the property brought back into a more traditional use, creating more footfall in the local area and bringing back an active frontage to the property. Aesthetically, there will be no impact as the external envelope will remain unchanged."

The plans were recommended for approval and formally granted permission on Friday, May 13.

Blueoak plans to make full use of the large windows at the upper floors of Royal House to flood each apartment with natural light, and highlight the site's location in proximity to such features as the new £72 million Northgate Development and the rest of Chester city centre.

Royal House marked the 10th Chester city development Blueoak has led in the past six years.

Iain MacLean, managing director of Blueoak Estates, previously said: "We strongly believe that utilising existing building such as Royal House helps breathe new life into city centres struggling under the threat of challenging retail conditions and weighted against online shopping experiences.

"The opportunity of new, quality developments such as Royal House will help drive potential homeowners into the city, who themselves are able to introduce new energy and footfall, whilst benefitting from everything an area such as Chester has to offer.”

The project is expected to launch in summer this year.