Flats future for drab former office block

PLANS to convert a 1970s office block into affordable flats in Llanelli have been approved although concerns were raised about its proximity to the town's magistrates' court.

- RICHARD YOULE Senior local democracy reporter

This empty office block in Llanelli will be upgraded and turned into flats.

(GOOGLE MAPS)

Members of Carmarthenshire Council's planning committee welcomed the application by a company called Hacer Developments to give the empty building a new lease of life.

It was last used by the Department of Work and Pensions in 2018 and subsequent attempts to bring it back into use for office and commercial space haven't materialised.

Council planning officer John Thomas described the building as drab and said it was close to a conservation area. He said he wouldn't liken the proposal to “putting lipstick on a gorilla” but that it would certainly be an improvement.