PLANS to create eight flats above a post office in the centre of Totton have been given the go-ahead.

Civic chiefs have approved an application by Sandkot Ltd to add extensions to an existing building in Water Lane, near its junction with Salisbury Road.

It is currently a two-storey building with a post office and a sandwich bar on the ground floor and three flats above.

A report produced by district council planning officers said: "The proposal is to build a floor above the existing first floor flats and redevelop the building to provide a total of eight flats on the first and second floor.

"These will replace the existing three flats, resulting in a net increase of five flats."

Totton and Eling Town Council lodged an objection to the proposed development.

It said: "Some of the flats have very little light and outlook. Amenity space is being reduced despite the additional dwellings, and there are no proposed parking spaces for the additional flats."

But the officers' report said the building was in a highly sustainable location with a range of public transport options.

It added: "The proposed development accords with national and local planning policies relating to housing development in such areas.

"The design, and the relationship between the proposed development and nearby dwellings, is considered acceptable."