Plans to turn part of a building above a shop into flats have been rejected by Havering Council.

A proposal was sent to the council by IPE Developments on September 20 to change the use of the top floor of Chesham House in Romford to residential, so nine flats could be built.

DV247 music store, that sells music equipment and other products, had been operating out of the building since June 2013.

The ground floor of the building was being used as a shop space but a staff member told the Recorder that the brand has since moved to being online-only.

Read More: Romford music shop Dv247 'looking to relocate', plans say

The topmost storey, that was the subject of the application, was an office for the store’s admin use but had been vacant since June.

Statements by the store’s manager, Blane Cox, and head of finance, Kim Noel-Johnson, that were attached with the application had suggested that the store is looking to relocate from Chesham House entirely as it is “not the optimum retail location”.

It “no longer needs large store areas and ancillary officers”, they said.

The plans sought to build a mix of one studio, three one-bed flats and five two-bed flats that would have been accessed through existing entrances and stairs for Chesham House.

The application was turned down by the council on November 14.

The authority argued that surrounding noise could impact future occupants of the development.

The applicant, the council said, has failed to convince them that the activities within the building would be capable of being mitigated.

A full list of the council’s grounds for rejection can be found on this link- https://development.havering.gov.uk/OcellaWeb/planningConditions?reference=J0032.23 .

The Recorder has contacted Mr Cox for comment. 

A local branch of property agent Kemsley had listed the entire building for sale on Rightmove months ago and it remains available, the agency said.