Council considers turning office block into flats

A block of vacant offices could be converted into flats under plans submitted to a council.

Realty Northampton Ltd has applied to convert the premises on Whitworth Road, Northampton, into 10 flats with three parking spaces.

The proposals submitted to West Northamptonshire Council has attracted 22 public comments, which all object to the plans.

Simon Ackerman, the director of Archi-tec which is designing the development, said turning the offices into accommodation would be “more favourable” for the area.

Zoe Smith, a Labour councillor on the authority, said the development would cause "dangerous parking in an area already without parking capacity".

"Parking is a concern, not just in terms of neighbours being able to park, but because of the impact it has on safety around that area," she added.

Residents have also cited parking as the main cause of concern and spoke of fears around noise pollution and damage to the character of the area.

Last year proposals to turn the adjacent dancehall into seven flats was rejected by the council, with a lack of parking listed as one of the reasons.

In the new application the redevelopment would see the dancehall remain, but the office space converted into 10 flats.

Ms Smith, who represents the Abington and Phippsville ward, said she feared that the new plans "represent a first step in a journey to lose the dancehall".

"It’s a really important community asset and it’s not included in this application which is a real relief," she added.

But she said there was a worry it could still "impact" the operation of the dance hall.

Mr Ackerman said: “The building as it stands is redundant for office use so that leaves a redundant building in a primarily residential area.

“The use class of an office is not conforming with a residential area.”

He added that the offices would have accommodated between 40 and 50 people and that removing the offices “would relieve parking during the day”.

He said: “We are not just converting for the sake of more return and units, it is a need within West Northamptonshire Council."

A decision on the planning application is expected to be made in December.

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