DEMOLITION of a Dorchester office block to make way for housing has won approval from planners.

The block, on a prominent site at the corner of Cornwall Road and Albert Road, opposite the Borough Gardens has been used by a range of businesses.

The now approved plans replace the building, which has 27 car parking spaces, with four 4-bed townhouses and nine parking spaces on the 1,270 square metre site.

The townhouses will sit roughly on the same footprint as the existing office block with trees on the site being preserved and extra planting added. The two access routes will remain in use. Architects say they have been designed in the style of other homes in the area.

Now the new homes will look.

Dorchester Town Council had welcomed the proposal as did several neighbours although one asked whether the design could include green technology and provide more homes on the plot for smaller families, couples and singles who live locally.

Concerns were also been expressed about parking problems in the area which might be exacerbated by the new homes.

Changes had been requested to the initial design by the Dorset Council conservation officer who wanted a reduction in size to the top floor windows.

DMW Architects, who has developed the plans, says elements on the new homes will mirror some of the features of nearby Edwardian houses with a similar height and brickwork detail.