Plans have been submitted to turn the kitchens and top floors above a former Aberystwyth Chinese restaurant into six flats.

A plan for the building, formerly home to the Mandarin restaurant at 26 Pier Street would see the residential floors above turned into six one bedroom flats, with the current kitchen and store room also converted to make more space for the new flats.

The scheme, submitted to Ceredigion County Council planners this week, will see the ground floor remain as a retail unit, documents said.

The scheme would also “include the provision of an external courtyard, amenity area, refuse and recycling area, and bicycle storage area.”

Documents said the scheme would see “the existing residential unit and part of the retail unit reconfigured to accommodate six one-bedroom, self-contained apartments.”

It will also see the “construction of a new shopfront, replacing the existing unsympathetic design which fronts Pier Street.”

“The size of the existing unit is of a size which is ripe for conversion, similar to the larger town houses of Aberystwyth,” documents said.

“The layout of the properties can easily be reconfigured internally to allow the successful delivery of the proposed units.

“Upon designing a scheme, it was decided to focus on one-bedroom apartments.

“This decision was derived from local knowledge, which demonstrated a demand for one-bedroom apartments within the Aberystwyth area.”

Documents said the building has been “vacant for a considerable time” and “the empty unit is not contributing to the economy, is more susceptible to vandalism and gives rise to a negative perception of the Aberystwyth Town Centre.”

“The proposal aims to rectify the negative impact associated with the current status of the building and will make a positive contribution, by enhancing the economic, environmental and social impact of the unit.”

The plans will be considered by Ceredigion County Council planning officers at a later date.

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