Plans for a house of multiple occupation (HMO) next to the former TJs nightclub in Newport have been submitted. Proposals to convert the upper floors of 10 Clarence Place into a five-bed HMO were lodged with Newport City Council planners last week.
It approved the plans would see the site converted into a shared living space with a kitchen, two shared bathrooms, and a roof terrace. The building is Grade-II listed meaning special consent has to be given for any major renovations or construction work to be carried out.
According to the proposals, submitted by KEW Planning on behalf of Calum Jones, the building is currently derelict and was "already in a detrimental state" when it was purchased by the applicant in 2019 with multiple deceased birds, cats, and spiders found inside. It has also "at risk of irreversible dilapidation" after significant water damage and lack of maintenance in recent years and is in "severe need of investment to reinstate the building to beneficial use", according to planning documents.
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The new plans include external restoration of the building and some of its original features which have been lost due to dereliction as well as internal restoration including the refurbishment of the ground floor and conversion of the upper floors to a five-bed HMO. The applicants say the project would "provide a practical beneficial use for the building through contributing to Newport’s housing stock and reintroducing economic activity within the derelict ground floor, in addition to reinstating some original features which are currently non-existent due to the dilapidated, derelict state of the building".
The building lies a few doors down from the historic former TJs nightclub in Clarence Place, which has been the subject of controversy in recent years. The building, which was once a lynchpin of the mid-90s music scene and hosted the likes of Oasis and Manic Street Preachers, has been closed since owner John Sicolo died in 2010 and has lain idle since. In August 2021 it was reported that plans to transform the site into a budget easyHotel were at an "advanced" stage but work has yet to begin and earlier this year scaffolding was erected around the building after Newport City Council took legal action over its state.
The council asked the owners to remove and store stone balustrades and other loose material that posed a risk as well as carrying out repairs to the roof and added: "Planning officers are waiting the decision of an appeal by the current owners to Planning Environment Decision Wales against a Listed Building Enforcement Notice and a Section 215 Notice before deciding the next steps."
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