Residents will be short changed if the upper floors of a bank in Woking town centre are converted into housing.

That’s the view of planning officers as proposals to create 16 apartments above the Barclays on the corner of Church Road East and Mercia Walk have been rejected.

The application by TGHW Ltd was primarily turned down by Woking Borough Council due to concerns over apartment size and noise pollution.

The application sought to convert the office space on the second and third floors of the Town Gate House building into a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments.

The council accepts the would-be development is in a sustainable location, being in the heart of the town, and were happy with the 13 parking spaces proposed.

But planning officer Josey Short was concerned the impact that noise from events and activity in Jubilee Square would have on residents and what ventilation will be available when windows are closed.

The officer felt the noise survey results were unrepresentative given readings were taken on a weekday, and not at a time when Jubilee Square is heavily used.

No window specification details are provided while the size of the apartments also prompted concerns, with 12 being below the nationally accepted limit.

The planning officer states: “Twelve of the proposed 16 dwellings would fail to comply with the nationally described space standard.

“Although the overall gross internal area of the dwellings would meet the minimum, the individual bedroom sizes and widths would fall below the minimum.”

The officer concluded: “It is acknowledged that the proposed development would provide new housing within Woking town centre, the principal centre of the Borough, however this would not outweigh the harms identified, which are overriding.”

There were also concerns that some residents may not get enough natural light.