The first floor of one of Helston’s largest empty shops is to become housing after conversion plans were approved.

However, changes have been made to the proposals for the former M&Co store at 13 Meneage Street, before planning permission was granted.

Developers had previously proposed converting the rear ground floor and first floor of the building in five residential apartments.

However, this was subsequently amended so that the whole of the ground floor will remain a retail area, with the back third remaining as storage.

Instead, just the first floor will now be converted, into three one-bedroom flats and one two-bedroom flat.

Other amendments include additional raised lantern lights to provide more natural light.

Concerns had been raised that conversions were “not [the] solution to [the] housing shortage” and that future residents could complain about noise or disturbance, which could result in further businesses closing.

Other objectors believed more money should be invested in businesses and shops. 

However, a planning officer at Cornwall Council found that under planning guidelines there was no reason to refuse the application, and approved it with conditions.

The main condition is that, before any residents move in, the bedroom window of Flat 2 must have obscure glazing fitted and have a restricted opening, in order to protect the privacy of those living at 15 Meneage Street, which overlooks the same courtyard.

A revised plan for the ground floor, first floor and roof with new lantern lights (Image: Cornwall Planning Group) Explaining the decision to grant conditional approval, the planning officer noted that Cornwall Council's Climate Emergency Development Plan document emphasises that “town centre support and diversification is needed to encourage a range of uses including residential, particularly in underused properties and floorspace.”

It was noted that after M&Co ceased trading in mid-2020 the building had been marked since November of that year.

“The general feedback from potential retailers and applicants is the size of the floorplate, both ground and first floor, being too large for a town like Helston to make a retail offering financially viable,” noted the planning officer, who also pointed out: “The large first floor, while offering significant storage space, is largely unusable as the lift needs replacing, which would require manual handling goods up and down stairs, which is not a workable or safe solution.

“The letting agent has looked at splitting the property to offer it as ground or first floor only, but the access to the side would not be workable for a commercial occupier and the level of works required would be cost prohibitive. 

“The property was offered for sale in June 2022 but failed to attract any offer for the freehold and it also failed to sell at auction at a reduced price in May 2023.  Since that time no further offers have been made up until the letting agent's correspondence dated 29 January 2024.”

M&Co closed in 2020 (Image: Google Street View) Given that the building remains empty, the officer said that converting the upper floor to residential, to allow the commercial ground floor to be marketed separately, was considered “a positive intervention.”

Documents put together by Cornwall Planning Group, on behalf of Carlton Park Construction, as part of the planning process, indicated that there would no on-site parking for the flats, explaining: “Consideration should be given that the area is highly sustainable and there is no requirement to provide on-site parking in support of our application.

“The application site is well located to existing bus links, trains, public transport and facilities. It is anticipated that the applicants will require minimal use of private vehicles.”

It stated that the flats would incorporate ‘Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery’, which optimises indoor air quality by extracting stale air and recovering heat from it. The recovered heat is then transferred to incoming fresh air.

The development would also implement water conservation measures such as rainwater harvesting and low-flow fixtures to minimise water usage.

It previously went on to add: “While some flats may lack direct access to outside space and natural daylight, the project is committed to integrating green infrastructure elements to mitigate these limitations and create a healthy and vibrant living environment.”

These included internal green spaces within communal areas “designed to promote relaxation, social interaction, and well-being among residents.”

However, this has since been amended to include two new lantern lights over flats that would be without windows, in addition to extra sky lights and conservation roof lights.