Revised plans to turn a former library building into an apartment block – and increase its height by four storeys – have been lodged.

Council planners blocked the original proposals for the City Central Library in Hanley last year, criticising the 'poorly designed, disproportionate and dominant' extension, as well as raising concerns over residential amenity, highway safety and fire safety.

Hanley Library Redevelopment Ltd has now submitted an updated planning application to Stoke-on-Trent City Council which it says addresses each of the reasons for refusal. The number of flats proposed for the building has been reduced from 106 to 101, with five ground floor apartments being replaced with two commercial units and communal space for residents – there will also be a private outdoor area for residents.

And while a four-storey vertical extension is still included, it will now be flush with the rest of the building with the same cladding and brickwork – the original extension was set back and had lighter cladding. The applicant has also submitted a new transport statement, a fire safety report and updated CG images of the proposed building in response to the planners' other concerns.

The original extension was set back and had lighter cladding (Image via planning application).

The new planning statement says: "The resubmission planning application contains a suite of updated technical documents and amended plans which can provide the local planning authority with full confidence that the redevelopment of this site can be delivered in a way which enhances this locally listed building, improves the setting of nearby listed buildings and preserves the character and appearance of the City Centre Conservation Area.

"Furthermore, it is considered that the scheme would bring forward substantial benefits that would clearly outweigh the less than substantial harm that would arise from the development. The proposal would deliver a development of high-quality design; bringing a vacant historic building back into a use that is consistent with its conservation.

"The proposal includes substantial improvements to the design of the proposal to ensure that the proposed extensions and alterations to the application building can assimilate well within its immediate context as well as wider views within the city centre."

The revised plans feature 64 one-bedroom, 30 two-bedroom and seven one-bedroom apartments. On the ground floor and lower ground floor there would be four commercial units, along with a gym, bike store and a communal area.

A four-storey extension is still included but it will now be flush with the rest of the building (Image via planning application).

In response to highway safety concerns, the transport statement says that the additional traffic generated by the transformed building would be 'barely perceptible' during peak hours. The building will have 27 parking spaces, accessed off Warner Street, all of which would be for the commercial units, with no on-site parking for residents.

Hanley Library was relocated to nearby Two Smithfield last year, and the city council subsequently sold the building to Hanley Library Redevelopment Ltd. The council is expected to make a decision on the new application by November 7.

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