Newark Municipal Buildings to be transformed into 15 flats, subject to planning permission
An application to convert the Newark Municipal Buildings into 15 flats has been submitted to Newark and Sherwood District Council planners.
The Grade II listed building has been empty for several years.
The application is by JAJ Developments Ltd, a company set up by brothers James and Andrew Derry.
Mr James Derry said: “We were conscious that the building had been empty for four or five years and it seemed a shame to see a building like that not being used.
“Having successfully converted the old hospital into offices, and my nephew Dan Derry having restored The Ram public house and brought it back to life, we bought the Municipal Buildings from Dan to bring them back to life.”
Mr Dan Derry bought the former register office from Newark and Sherwood District Council, originally with the intention of converting it into office space.
Mr James Derry said: “We think it will convert into very nice accommodation for people who work in the town and will be a big asset to Newark.
“We hope the planners will look favourably on it.”
The interior of the building will be completely remodelled with one exception — the existing reading room on the ground floor will be retained as a room in one of the flats with all its period features. It will remain unchanged apart from redecoration and the installation of services.
“The building was called the Bishop’s Palace at one point in time because the bishop used to stay there, and this is quite a nice room with high ceilings, a nice fireplace and panelling, so we were keen to retain it,” said Mr James Derry.
“The building is in a good location with nice green spaces around it. The conversion will be done to a good standard but sold at modest prices We will be looking for first-time buyers and pricing them at a reasonable level that people can afford.”
The green area surrounding the building was subject to a separate, controversial planning application to remove four mature lime and sycamore trees to create extra parking spaces.
It led to protests from a number of conservation groups and the matter was put on hold.
Mr Derry said car parking details were still to be negotiated.
“We hope to have a number of parking spaces for people, by owning or leasing them, but there is still controversy surrounding the trees, and I don’t think that’s been resolved yet,” he said.
“We are hoping for the flats to have one parking space each, at least, but it’s a central location, so if you are living in the town centre you might not need a car. It need not be as crucial as it would be with an out-of-town development.”
