Plans to turn a Hitchin car park into a four-bed house have been refused by council planners.

North Herts Council has thrown out plans to build the two-storey property behind Le Bella Vita on Sun Street, saying the building would be "overbearing".

The scheme would have left the "under-used" car park with just eight of its existing 35 parking spaces.

Gardens to the front and rear of the home were included, as was a footpath to the river.

But council planners said the scheme could not go ahead.

"The proposed dwelling, by reason of its siting within the car park, its proximity to the side boundaries and being a single residential dwelling would result in a contrived form of development, contrary to the local context of this side of the river and would result in an incongruous addition that fails to enhance the character of the locality," the report said.

It added: "The proposed siting of the dwelling, by reason of its proximity to a nearby public house, would result in conflict between the future occupiers of the dwelling proposed and the users and operators of the public house."

The application was also criticised by Hertfordshire County Council's highways department for providing "insufficient information".

See the full application here.