A PROPOSAL to let out rooms to non-students at Chester's Northgate Studios in a bid to mitigate the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been refused. Last summer, Primus Property Group put forward the plans having received "barely any bookings" for its 150-bedroom development on Trafford Street for the current academic year. The application was to vary a condition to the planning consent it was granted for the student accommodation, enabling it to be used for unrestricted residential accommodation until July 31, 2022. Initially, the proposal was to let out all rooms before being amended to offer a total of 56 units on the fourth and fifth floors of the building.