A solicitors' proposal to convert some of its offices in Burnham-on-Crouch into a new flat, due to the rise in home working since the pandemic, has been refused.

Brown & Co, at 126 Station Road, hoped to convert its first and second floor offices into a new home as majority of its staff members have enjoyed working remotely due to the pandemic.

In its application documents, the company said: "The pandemic and associated lockdowns have proven working from home to be a more efficient, productive and sustainable option for the majority of the staff."

It intended to retain its ground floor offices to be used as an "office base" which it said would maintain "a street presence and a facility for walk-in business, client and staff meetings".

But Maldon District Council refused the application on the basis that it would "result in the loss of an employment use".

There are nine full-time employees currently working at the solicitors, which relocated to Burnham-on-Crouch in 2011.

The plans included the conversion of the first and second floors of the building into a two-bedroom flat, which would have necessitated the construction of a new staircase to its exterior.

District council planning officers said that it had not been "demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Local Planning Authority that the property has been appropriately marketed for its existing use, or as a redevelopment opportunity" for other commercial uses of an employment nature.

They said that the proposed development would result in "a large, incongruous and bulky addition to the building that would be out of keeping with the character and appearance" of its surroundings.

No parking provision for the proposed home had been included in the planning application.