Working Men's Club in Northamptonshire to become flats
Irthlingborough’s Working Men’s Club has been vacant since September 2022.
Plans to convert an old working men’s club in a Northamptonshire town into 13 flats have been given the go-ahead by the government’s planning inspectorate.
Irthlingborough’s Working Men’s Club has been vacant since September 2022. It has now been decided that the old social club will be redeveloped to create more housing for the area, despite a substantial number of concerns from locals around parking and highways.
An appeal was made by developer Fortress Eight Limited after North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) failed to issue a decision within the timeframe. Plans were first submitted in April of last year.
The plans will see the site, which fronts Scarborough Street, come back into use hosting eight two-bedroom apartments and five one-bedroom apartments. It is intended to fully protect the entire Victorian building and to return it to a refurbished and attractive state.
Part of the applicant’s reasoning for the change of use was that the property had no on-site parking, meaning that the Working Men’s Club would struggle to attract visitors. According to a parking analysis undertaken by the applicant, it indicated the building would need 47 car spaces to be used as a viable public house or club.
The applicant stated that the 13-apartment conversion would not be able to provide residential parking onsite whilst also retaining the existing historic building. It has therefore been proposed that residents won’t be car owners.
This lack of parking has fuelled much of the disdain for the residential site, with nearby residents arguing that the new flats could cause major road issues. As noted by many objectors, these issues are compounded by Irthlingborough Junior School being across the road and the Infant School located further down Scarborough Street.
One person wrote in their objection: “There is already significant dangers for our children and parents at drop off and pick up time due to the amount of traffic around this area.
“There have been several near misses with cars and children around the site. Scarborough Street is already filled, to capacity, with parking for the residents.
“There will be more cars on this road and the surrounding roads causing a danger to our families as they bring their children to school.”
Corby MP Tom Pursglove also lodged his objection to the planning inspectorate earlier this year. He cited safety concerns raised by parking and the proximity to the town’s schools as well.
In their report, the planning inspector noted their observations from a site visit: “While some spaces were available, particularly on College Street, it is reasonable to assume that pressure for parking spaces would increase during evenings and at weekends. This suggests that while there may be some additional capacity, it would be limited.
“The addition of 13 apartments is likely to lead to an increase in current demand for on-street parking. However, any use of the building, including its former use as a working men’s club, would generate some potential demand for parking.
“The Council and Highway Authority have both accepted that the development would result in less parking demand than the existing permitted use.”
It added that the building is in an accessible and sustainable location due to its proximity to nearby bus stops and cycle storage facilities, which “may also help to minimise any additional parking demand created”.
The closest available car parking facility in Irthlingborough is in Church Street, which is free of charge, but has a maximum stay of 24 hours.
NNC told the planning inspectorate they were also minded to approve the application and did not seek to defend the appeal.
The final proposals were approved by the planning inspectorate on May 24. As part of the works, the applicant has also agreed to provide financial contributions to the town’s libraries.