Plans approved to build eight flats above abandoned retail unit in Northampton town centre
Plans to build eight flats above an abandoned former retail unit in Northampton town centre have been given the green light.
West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) has approved plans to create eight residential flats above the former Shoezone store in the Drapery, Northampton.
The four-storey building, with the ground floor vacant since Shoezone moved to the Grosvenor Centre in April 2023, will be converted into eight residential flats above the former retail space.
The plans were submitted in February by Briggs Hulland Ltd.
The proposal includes five one-bedroom flats and three two-bedroom flats. There will be no on-site parking, but the development will feature a communal garden for tenants, according to plans.
In their application, Briggs Hulland Ltd explained why the development should go ahead, saying: “The council cannot presently demonstrate a five-year housing land supply and it is necessary to assess the proposal against the presumption in favour of sustainable development.”
In regards to no parking spaces for tenants, the developer said: “Based on the town centre location of the site and resulting close proximity to a range of public transport infrastructure and local services, the development is considered acceptable for a car-free development.
“As the whole application site is an existing mixed-use building comprising of commercial and residential with existing highways impacts, the proposed use will likely not cause worse difficulties than the existing use.”
The plans did not mention any plans to bring the vacant Shoezone retail space back into use.
WNC approved the plans on December 23.
Plans have also been submitted to WNC for the creation of seven flats above Taco Bell and KFC on the Drapery, which is next door to Shoezone. A decision has not yet been made on those plans.
Further up the Drapery, in September, Zone Developments completed the construction of 201 student flats at the former Debenhams store, which had been a high street landmark for more than 140 years.
In November, Zone began its next project to build 101 flats behind the former Debenhams site, in College Street.
Further down the road, in Bridge Street, work is progressing convert the former Fat Cats Cafe, a Grade II listed building, into 43 flats.