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More on KentOnline
An ambitious plan to spruce up part of an unused high street building has been revealed - and could bring 27 apartments to the town centre.
Northdown House in Ashford - which houses dessert specialist Kaspas on the ground floor - will see its top floors converted into 27 one-bed units if permission is granted, with a new storey added to its top.
The 1960s-built property was used as an office block until 2013, but has remained unused ever since.
The project’s design and access statement highlights how the scheme would improve the building’s aesthetic.
Applicant Abbey Commercial Ltd says new windows will be installed “in a careful pattern so that they read as individual windows rather than part of a continuous band, far more in keeping with neighbouring properties within the (town centre) conservation area.
It added: “The proportions of the building will be greatly improved by the addition of a new floor of accommodation at roof level.”
The upwards extension will be clad in zinc to promote further fit in with the existing high street buildings.
In the application, the developers say: “Currently the ground floor is successfully let to a range of retail uses whilst the offices located on the upper two floors have been vacant since 2013.
"This is an opportunity to revitalise a currently partly unused existing building, to provide much-needed residential accommodation in a highly sustainable location and to effect improvements to the size of accommodation and the external appearance of the building.”
To view the scheme, visit www.ashford.gov.uk and search for 19/00766/AS.
