Another office block in Old Town could be converted into flats.

And if the plan gets the go ahead residents will have no parking allocated to them - although the building is immediately next door to a car park.

Developer Holmhurst Ltd based in Kenton Middlesex has applied for approval to convert the upper storeys of the Forum, a large red brick block in Marlborough Road at the junction with Newport Street, into 20 flats.

The ground floor and part of the first floor are used by HSBC bank, though Holmhurst’s application says the lease the bank has for that part of the building expires at the end of the year.

Above the bank and its offices the building is empty.

Holmhurst wants to chop up the first, second and third floors into 10 one-bed and 10 two-bed apartments.

Eight apiece would be constructed on the first two floors and four in the smaller third storey.

The company said: “The conversion of the upper floors to residential use will not require any alterations to the appearance of the building and is called as permitted development.”

But like other developments in the town centre and Old Town, parking specifically for residents will not be provided even though there are seven undercroft parking spaces already built.

The company says three of those spaces would be kept for the use of whichever company takes the ground floor, but spaces won’t be needed for people living in the flats: “No parking provision will be made for the occupiers of the units and the impact of the development on the local roads will be a reduction in traffic generation compared to fully occupied offices.”

Bike storage at one space per flat will be provided, and bin store and recycling areas will be placed in the parking area on the ground floor.

But residents and workers in Old Town were not that impressed, particularly by the lack of parking.

Jasmine Bhatt, who works in Newport Street said: “More flats? Every block around here is being done up for flats it seems. At some point we’ll have to build more office blocks for them to work in. Where are the jobs for all these people who’ll buy these flats?

“I suppose people want to live up here because it’s the nicest part of the town centre and there’ are all the bars and restaurants up here.”

But Geoffrey Temple who lives nearby said: “If there are 20 flats then that’s at least 20 people and it could be as many as 50, if the one bedrooms are full of couples and there are three people in every two-bed flats.

“Most people who can afford to buy or rent a flat in Old Town will have a car and they’ll want to park it nearby, so it will add to traffic around here, and if they don’t have parking in the block, they might be tempted to park in other places which might inconvenience others.”

The developers point out that Swindon Borough Council’s planning standards do not require parking to be provided in the town centre or Old Town.

Plans have already been lodged to convert the Adver’s old building in Victoria Road and another empty office block, Paxton House in Prospect Place, is also the subject of a scheme to construct 27 flats, all without parking.