Former department store to become flats

Plans to turn part of a former department store into flats have been approved after a successful appeal.

Developers want to convert the first and second floors of the old Peter Crisp building on the High Street in Rushden into 14 flats.

North Northamptonshire Council refused the application in July over concerns that some of the flats were too small and that it was too close to a nearby protected wildlife area.

However, the government's planning inspectorate overturned that rejection.

The upper floors of the building have been vacant since the family-run department store closed in 2009.

The ground floor has since been occupied by businesses including Tesco Express, an estate agency, and a gym.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the applicant made changes to the plans, including changing the layout in two of the flats to reduce the number of people living there.

The developer also showed evidence it had paid out money to mitigate the impact on the special protection conservation area, the inspectorate said.

The flats will include four one-bedroom and ten two-bedroom homes, each with an open-plan kitchen and living area.

No parking spaces are included.

The planning inspector said the new plans fixed the original problems and published its decision on 16 May.

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