A bid to turn a former Jehovah's Witness hall in Wells into four flats has been thrown out after councillors slammed the scheme as "bulky" and "contrived".

The empty 1990s red-brick building on West Street was earmarked for conversion into four one-bed homes with new dormers and an extra floor squeezed into the roof void. Developers argued it would provide much-needed rental housing close to the city centre.

But Somerset Council wasn't convinced. Planners said the design was "top heavy", failed to fit the street scene and didn't respect the original building.

They also raised red flags over the site's location next to The Tramways bar and venue. Noise, late-night activity and a bin store placed right outside ground-floor living rooms were branded a recipe for an "unsatisfactory living environment".

Councillors added the layout left no space for proper bin and recycling facilities, piling on another reason for refusal.

In rejecting the plan, the council ruled the scheme clashed with both local planning policies and national guidelines — leaving the West Street hall empty for now and its future still up in the air.