PLANS for 38 'millennial' flats as part of a two-storey extension to a grade II-listed city centre building could be approved next week.

Citation House in Foregate Street could soon be housing a mix of apartments if extension and conversion plans are given the thumbs up by the city council planning committee but Historic England and the council's own conservation officers have objected to it.

The contentious issue for conservationists is Student Loft Limited’s plan to build a further two stories on top of an existing extension to the Georgian building – an addition which will no doubt impact the view from both Foregate Street at the front and Farrier Street at the rear.

Historic England, the city council’s conservation department and Student Soft Limited met to discuss ways in which the extension could be "softened" to make it less prominent.

Historic England feels the existing three-storey extension is “detrimental” to the character and appearance of the conservation area it sits in and a further two-storeys would only “intensify” and be “further harmful” to the area.

The plan is to build eight flats in the main listed building across two floors and a further 30 flats across a newly extended Citation House. A cycle parking area and a landscaped courtyard will also be built.

A report to be discussed by the city council’s planning committee on Thursday (August 23) says: “Historic England do not consider that the amended plans have addressed their in principle concerns and consider that the proposal fails to meet the requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in failing to better enhance or reveal the significance of heritage assets.

“Historic England considered that the height, scale and massing of the extension offers no reference to the conservation area setting and as such there is an objection to the proposal.”

The city council’s conservation officer said the upwards extension would be “overly dominant” and the plans would “furthermore exasperate an already out of character building.”

Nevertheless, city council conservation officers welcomed the redevelopment of the extension at its current height because the building is of no historic significance and is seen as having a negative impact on the character and appearance of the conservation area.