The site of a former NatWest bank in Wokingham town centre is set to be converted into flats after plans were approved.

Under plans approved by Wokingham Borough Council, nine flats could be built at 1-5 Broad Street, on the corner of Rose Street. Part of the ground floor will be kept as a space for a business or shop.

But Wokingham Town councillors raised concerns that the town centre that town centre shops and businesses are being replaced by homes. And one neighbour questioned whether there would be enough parking.

Plans submitted to Wokingham Borough Council say there will be a mixture of three-bed, two-bed and one-bed flats over the ground, first and second floors.

READ MORE: Wokingham town centre flats plan ‘would cause traffic jams’

Yet the plans say there will only be six off-street parking spaces for the residents – fewer than the minimum that Wokingham Borough Council says there should be for nine homes.

Rose Street resident Kerrie Paxton questioned whether this would be enough, in a comment submitted to planning officers. She said: “Where are all these new residents going to park?

“I have no objection to the conversion, but the council need to be sensible about the available parking. There is already not enough for the residents on Rose Street.”

Yet planning officers noted that the flats would be within easy walking distance of bus stops, Wokingham train station and public car parks, and included 15 bicycle spaces. They also said that the building would need more than nine parking spaces if it remained as a business.

Wokingham Town Council’s planning committee said it backed the plans – but added some of its councillors had ‘concerns that the town centre is becoming more residential with a loss of commercial businesses.’

But Wokingham Borough’s planning officers said that, as the plan still included space for a business, it would ‘preserve the character and sustainability’ of the town centre.