FOUR grade II listed houses are due to be turned into luxury student bedrooms and a cafe.

The houses in Church Street, Durham, are grade II listed but are in poor condition and have been empty for around a decade.

Planning permission has been granted to allow the complete refurbishment of numbers 30 to 33 to turn them into student accommodation.

Number 30 will be turned into three “high end luxury apartments” while numbers 31 to 33 will be turned into nine self-contained student rooms.

Part of the buildings collapsed in January 2015 and will be rebuilt.

Permission was also given for a new-build development with six student bedrooms and a new cafe and terrace to the rear of number 33, which is opposite Durham University’s student union and would have views of the River Wear and Durham Cathedral.

Calls have been made by residents living on Church Street to expedite the work to prevent further deterioration of the site.

However, concerns had been raised about the new building, with objections raised about the impact on the nearby world heritage site and on the privacy of neighbours.

The plans were welcomed by the World Heritage Site coordinator, who described the cafe would be a “positive addition”.

The council’s design and conservation officers said the plans were an “appropriate regeneration” of the site.

The houses, which date from the 18th century, were previously used as student accommodation but have been empty for 10 years.