THE former headquarters of Bridgwater’s Labour Party will be turned into flats following a decision by the district council.

J. E. Webber Construction Ltd. applied to turn the grade two listed premises on Dampiet Street into six flats, with cycle spaces being provided at the rear.

Bridgwater Town Council objected to the plans, citing issues with parking and traffic from additional cars.

But Sedgemoor District Council’s planning committee voted to allow the development to proceed when it met in Burnham-on-Sea on Tuesday morning (April 16).

The building, also known as Unity House, is a short distance from Bridgwater library and the Blake Gardens public space.

While cycle spaces will be provided on site, none of the six flats (a mixture of one- and two-bedroom properties) will have car parking spaces.

Alan Muir, speaking on behalf of the applicant, said the building was in “a sustainable location”, arguing residents would work or cycle into the town centre rather than driving.

He said: “Developments in more sustainable locations, which are well-served by public transport or within walking distance of amenities, may not require parking spaces.

“We will minimise any alterations to the building. The proposal provides an invaluable opportunity to preserve a grade II listed building which has fallen into disrepair.”

Councillor Alex Glassford described the plans as “very contrived” and asked why the number of two-bedroom flats had increased since previous plans for the site were granted.

He said: “Why didn’t they apply for the five two-bedroom flats and one one-bedroom flat to start with?

"There’s no extra space being created.”

Stuart Houlet, the council’s service manager for development management, said the applicant was “entitled to come back with a more viable scheme” and the layout “doesn’t detrimentally harm the building itself.”

Cllr Alan Bradford welcomed the development, describing the building as “a proper eyesore” – but shared the town council’s concerns over parking.

He said: “We’ve got a big problem in Bridgwater where we haven’t got a standard parking scheme and all our roads are chock-a-block now.

“We’re building more flats, but we must think about where they’re going to park their vehicles.”

Mr Houlet responded: “If someone chooses to buy a car, they will have to fight with everyone else to try and park it near their property.”

The committee voted to approve the plans by a margin of ten votes to zero, with one abstention.