A weekly newspaper has been denied permission to change its office into housing in future.

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council has rejected a change of use proposal which would have allowed the potential redevelopment of the offices of the Cheadle Times.

Times, Echo and Life Publications, which owns the Times, had been looking into the possibility of redevelopment of the office, in Tape Street, Cheadle, after the coronavirus pandemic led to more remote working.

However, the council has concluded occupants of the proposed flats would be “affected by noise and disturbance arising from adjacent land uses, car parks and roads and that the occupants of two of the flats would not have adequate light provision”.

The Times has been housed at Tape Street, pictured, since the 1960s.

Times, Echo and Life Publications editor and managing director Paul Campbell told HTFP: “Covid enforced furlough and home working for all of us, the team here really made and still make a fantastic job of working from home, which has just highlighted the overcapacity of the building.

“Talking to the team they indicated a preference for home working so we are looking at ways and options to continue down that path.

“Change of use would have given any future plans for the building – nothing decided at present – more versatility.

“We could retain a portion of the building as offices, or sell it as residential, and find another smaller premises in the town or even retain its present status.”