Flats plan aims to boost 'struggling' city street

4 hours ago

Owen SennittNorfolk

News image — The firm behind the scheme hopes turning parts of the former Wilko and Poundland stores into flats will boost footfall to the high street

Owen Sennitt/BBC A large brick building with boarded up windows on the ground floor and a red and white sign for Wilko can be seen on a bright sunny day — The firm behind the scheme hopes turning parts of the former Wilko and Poundland stores into flats will boost footfall to the high street

A developer says its plans to convert a former department store that has been vacant for nearly three years into 70 flats and retail space will help revive a "struggling" shopping street.

Plans have been lodged by ALB Group to turn the now-empty Wilko and Poundland stores in St Stephens Street, Norwich, into homes.

It is the second venture announced by the Nottingham-based firm in the city, which also recently acquired the vacant former Tesco Metro store on Guildhall Hill.

Arran Bailey, managing director at ALB Group, said: "Large empty stores can have a hugely negative impact on town centres, so bringing them back into use is vital."

Owen Sennitt/BBC A department store with red branding for the company Wilko can be seen, with boarded up windows and doors, under the canopy over the public pavement. — Wilko closed its St Stephens Street store in late 2023 when the company went into administration

The building, originally a Co-op department store, has been shut since the end of 2023 when Wilko went into administration and Poundland relocated to a unit opposite.

Bailey said: "More people living in the city naturally increases footfall. The 70 apartments will be aimed at young professionals, and the site is well connected with bus stops right outside."

John Morgan, director at Leonard Design Architects, said the building had presented significant design challenges, which has put other developers off.

"We have been working closely with contractors and planning officers to develop a solution and we are now in a position to submit the plans," he said.

Those plans, which will need to be approved by Norwich City Council, follow similar proposals emerging for the former Debenhams store close by in Red Lion Street, which is due to be partially demolished and turned into 377 student flats.

A short distance away on Queens Road, the 1970s office block Victoria House has been demolished and there are plans to build 432 homes there.

All these developments will drastically alter this part of Norwich, which in recent years has suffered due to boarded up shops and vacant buildings.

Owen Sennitt/BBC A man wearing a pink shirt under a navy blue gilet smiles towards the camera, with colourful market stalls out of focus behind him — Martin Schmierer says losing office and retail space in the city centre can have "social consequences"

Martin Schmierer, a Green city councillor, said: "While that is of course profitable for developers, it does have social consequences because there is less pull to places like Norwich.

"What we are seeing is where once there was a glut of retail and office bases, now there is a dearth.

"We need to make sure that they are the kind of development that the residents of Norwich need and ultimately deserve."

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