Councillors have refused £14 million plans to turn vacant historic buildings into 39 flats – leaving the future of the scheme in doubt.

The proposals, which had been allocated £3.5 million of Levelling Up cash, would see the Grade II listed Tunstall Library and Baths and the neighbouring drill hall converted into apartments along with a restaurant, gym and other facilities.

But planning committee members at Stoke-on-Trent City Council voted to refuse planning permission, in line with their officers' recommendation.

Planning officers had raised a number of concerns with the scheme, including heritage harm, residential amenity and highway safety.

Applicants Tunstall Library Developments Ltd argued that these issues could be resolved with more time, and warned that an opportunity to bring heritage buildings back into use and provide new homes could be lost.

But the planning committee rejected a proposal to defer the application to a later meeting and instead voted in favour of refusal.

The council has already said that it is looking at redirecting the Levelling Up funding to a different heritage project in the north of the city.

Tunstall Library Developments has been working with the city council on the plans for the Tunstall buildings for more than three years.

Along with the 'high end' apartments, the development would include a bar, restaurant, spa pool, gym as well as commercial and community space.

But the scheme received objections from Historic England and the council's heritage officer, who raised concerns over proposed changes to the buildings' historic windows and the installation of a new lift.

Planning officers also had concerns over residential amenity due to low ceilings and a lack of natural light in some areas, while the council's highways department said it needed more information about access.

The applicants argued that many of these objections were 'overstated' and claimed that re-purposing historic buildings would always mean making some compromises.

Architect Carl Croft, speaking for the applicants, said: "On heritage, the harm identified by officer is less than substantial harm. The report acknowledges that bringing the buildings back into use is a public benefit. We ask members to give that real weight.

"On residential amenity, this is not a standard new-build apartment scheme. It is a conversion of listed civic buildings, with fixed window positions, existing floor levels and heritage constraints. Some compromises are inevitable.

"These constraints must be assessed in context. The alternative would be more harmful intervention into the listed fabric, or no deliverable scheme at all."

Mr Croft said that without a viable scheme, the buildings would face 'further vacancy, deterioration and uncertainty'.

Tunstall Library Developments say their project will provide much-needed new homes, prevent further decay to important heritage buildings and relocate the existing electrical sub-station from within the baths building, which would be a practical benefit to the area.

Councillor Dave Evans proposed putting off making a decision to allow more time to resolve the officers' concerns.

He said: "I don't think there is sufficient information in front of me to make a valid decision. I hear the officers' point that there has been extensive pre-app discussions. But I can give you examples of other applications where we are still working with an applicant five years on.

"I think we've given up on this a little too early. I think the public would expect us to do everything possible to get this building re-used."

Four of the nine committee members, including Cllr Evans, initially spoke in support of a deferral.

But head of planning Tom Coates argued that a lot of time had already been spent on the application, and said that the 'proper way' of dealing with it now would be to refuse and invite the developer to submit a fresh application.

The meeting was paused for 20 minutes as officers sought further details on the proposal to defer. After the meeting resumed, the committee voted six to three against deferral.

Committee chair Andy Platt said the briefing on the application had been 'depressing' due to the number of problems with the application, such as the lack of information on access and the low ceilings.

He said: "This is a sub-standard application, it really is. Some members want to give them a chance, but I think it's unfair to say we should defer, because this needs starting again.

"I think it's better for the applicants and the public to go away and start again. Start with the access, and the heritage aspects. I say we should refuse this and move forward with this site."

Committee members subsequently voted seven to two in favour of refusal.

Tunstall Library Developments is due to have a meeting with the council's regeneration team in the coming days to discuss the future of the scheme.

But the company has previously said that the Levelling Up funding is needed to unlock more than £10 million of private investment – raising questions over how any revised plans would be funded.

A Stoke-on-Trent City Council spokesperson said: "Earlier this year this council declared a heritage emergency, because buildings like the former Tunstall Library, Baths and Drill Hall are too important to the identity of our city to be allowed to fall into disrepair.

"That commitment is exactly why officers recommended that councillors on the planning committee refuse Tunstall Library Developments Ltd's (TLDL) application to convert the site into apartments and why the committee voted to refuse planning permission.

"Following a thorough review, both officers and Historic England found the application does not meet the standards required to convert this Grade II listed building into a residential building.

"It is disappointing that these proposals did not measure up, but our first duty is to protect the building, and we will not lower the bar on a heritage asset of this significance.

"It is very rare for the planning authority to refuse applications but there were a number of significant concerns about this proposed residential conversion and also the application did not include all relevant information.

"The Levelling Up funding will stay in the Stoke-on-Trent North constituency to which it was originally allocated.

"The Council will move as a matter of urgency to redirect it into another heritage project. We remain confident we will spend our Levelling Up allocation before the national deadline, and that the money will deliver lasting benefits for the people of Stoke-on-Trent."