Dorchester's Princes House to become flats, shops and offices
A redevelopment of the site has been approved
A former department store in Dorchester town centre is set for a new lease of life.
Princes House, on the corner of Trinity Street, Princes Street and High West Street, will be transformed into flats, shop units and offices.
The plans have been approved by Dorset Council.
The building's had plenty of uses over the years - as well as the former Genges/Dingles store, it's also been home to an Argos branch, a base for Dorset Council's senior management team, and a Covid vaccine centre.
New plans include 26 flats on the top three floors, with commercial units on the ground floor and offices at the back of the building.
The outside will look much the same as it does now.
Dorchester Town Council welcomed the changes, saying they hope at least some of the flats will be ‘affordable’, although that has yet to be confirmed.
Dorchester Civic Society said it was worried, however, that some of the flats would be so small that it would 'create substandard living accommodation and store-up problems for current and further generations'.
They also raised concerns that there isn't enough natural light and ventilation, as well as a lack of parking, cycle storage and bin capacity.
Dorset Council responded to those comments from the Civic Society by stating that all the flats would have at least one external window and did comply with the necessary regulations.