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A developer has submitted revised plans for six new flats above a “derelict” commercial unit in Newport city centre.

Mainty Group Consulting Ltd proposes converting the upper floors at 83 Commercial Street into six new homes, while retaining the business use downstairs.

The plans represent the applicant’s second attempt to redevelop the building for residential use, after a previous bid was rejected last October.

City council planning officers turned down that first application amid concerns several of the nine proposed flats would have “inadequate” natural light.

They also refused planning permission on the grounds of noise, design, bin and bike storage, and biodiversity.

The developer has now come back to the table with the current proposal, shrinking the redevelopment to six residential units on the building’s three upper floors.

According to planning documents submitted to the council, the applicant has included balconies for the proposed rear units, bigger windows and “improved internal layouts” for the homes.

Acoustic glazing and party wall insulation will address noise concerns, and the plans have been updated to “correct previous inconsistencies” and provide bin and bike storage areas, planters, and bird and bat boxes.

The developer argues these changes make a “significant design upgrade” to the previous application.

The homes would be accessible from both the front and back of the property, while the ground-floor commercial unit would have its own front entrance.

The application is currently under consideration, and can be viewed on the Newport City Council website under reference 26/0171.