OFFICES above the former Co-Op food store in Bell Street, Shaftesbury are expected to be converted to five flats.

Dorset Council has agreed a ‘prior approval’ request for the change of use which will see a mix of one and two-bed properties.

Dorset Council has accepted that the building can be converted to meet modern housing standards and that the application will only see minor changes to the outside of the building.

The prior approval process avoids the need for a more detailed, and costly, planning application, part of the Government's 'light touch' approach to planning.

Said a council planning officer: “The change of use does have the potential to affect the character and appearance of the designated are but the change to residential is considered to have a neutral impact in this instance given the mix of uses that already exist in the area and that this one site represents a very small fraction of the overall number of occupied buildings within that area.”

The application says that with plenty of public parking available, including the public car park adjacent to the site, there is no need to provide additional parking spaces.