Plans rejected to convert iconic Victorian buildings in Northampton into care home and 14 flats

Plans to build a new assisted living care home at iconic Grade II listed Northampton buildings have been rejected.

Proposals had been submitted by Rothal Court Ltd to part demolish and extend the Addison Villas at numbers 34-35 and 36-38 Billing Road into supported living accommodation for people with learning disabilities.

The applicant was also planning on erecting a four-storey block of 14 assisted living flats on a car park at the rear of the site, on Palmerston Road.

However, the council rejected the application saying the development would be 'visually dominant and incongruous', 'visually intrusive and overbearing' for residents on Palmerston Road, and the loss of the car park would increase street parking pressures.

The planning application cost more than £4,000 for the applicant to submit to the council, according to planning papers.

According to a heritage statement, the buildings date from the 1880s and are in the Queen Anne style which was then fashionable. The architect was Matthew Henry Holding, who lived in Northampton.

The buildings were listed grade II in 1976. They stand within the Billing Road Conservation Area, which was designated in 2012.