Plans to turn a Durham office into student accommodation have been rejected by Durham County Council, citing the potential for 'community imbalance' with more student housing.

The proposal would've seen the transformation of the ground floor of a two-storey terraced property at 44 Claypath to student housing but received backlash from the local community.

Janet George, a representative of the St Nicholas Community Forum, objected to the application raising concerns about an already high proportion of student properties in the area along with noise disturbances.

She said that the lifestyle of students was "at odds with the norms of family life such as school and work and sleep."

Similarly, the City of Durham Trust, and the City of Durham Parish Council, both raised objections based on concerns for community balance and quality of life.

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The Parish Council highlighted the proposed conversion as a "disguised House in Multiple Occupation (HMO)" rather than a residential flat, adding concerns about the impact on existing residents due to increased noise and disturbance from student tenants.

Despite the objections, the initial assessment recommended project approval subject to conditions including construction hours and material matching.

However, the decision was ultimately to reject the application due to the adverse impact it would've had on local residents' amenity, potential increase in noise, disturbance, and violation of the community balance.

The refusal notice highlighted that it was the "adverse impact on the amenity of existing residents" and "community imbalance" due to the high concentration of HMOs that led to application rejection.

The applicants have the right to appeal the decision within the next six months.