A FEW lucky residents will be able to see the Chester's iconic Eastgate Clock from their rooms after permission was granted for new city centre apartments.

A planning application was submitted to Cheshire West and Chester Council to convert the currently vacant office space on the upper floors of 25 Eastgate Row North, a Grade II-listed building, earlier this year.

Cheshire Planning Solutions, on behalf of applicants Hassard Property Co Ltd, submitted documents saying the upper floors, which had been designated as office space, had been vacant for a number of years, with efforts to market them being fruitless.

The building is situated between Natwest Bank and Bella Italia, opposite what was the Browns of Chester Debenhams department store, and within sight of the iconic Eastgate Clock.

The second, third and fourth floors would be converted into one-bedroom apartments, one on each floor, with en-suite facilities and a kitchen/dining/living space, and windows providing views of Eastgate Street.

Minor interior alterations would be made to the relevant floors for partitioning and the installation of various units.

Refurbishment works would also be carried out, including on the roof.

The plans also include alterations to the Rows level, converting the existing 190 sq ft retail unit into an enlarged, 836 sq ft space.

The ground floor, currently home to the Moss Bros clothing store, would remain unchanged.

On Monday, Cheshire West and Chester Council formally approved the proposals, subject to a number of conditions.

These include limiting noise during development works, the submission of detailed plans of what the new Rows frontage would look like, the submission of sound insulation plans, plus the submission and approval of building samples to be used in the external development of the building, to ensure the external appearance would remain appropriate relative to its surroundings.