Newspaper House in Victoria Road, once home to the newspaper’s editorial and production teams for more than one hundred and sixty years, has been empty since the operation moved to Dorcan in 2018. The building has steadily deteriorated and been tied to several abandoned redevelopment attempts.
The new scheme has been submitted by the Thomsett Group, a London-based developer that acquired part of the wider site previously linked to the collapsed firms Chris James Construction and Blewbury Court. A 2020 approval for 19 flats expired after no work began before the former developer went into liquidation. A separate permission granted in 2019 for 24 flats in a new rear extension stalled when Blewbury Court entered administration in July.
With this latest decision, a total of 45 homes now hold planning consent across the full complex.
The new approval involves no external alterations to the Grade II listed frontage on Victoria Road. Only the later rear extension forms part of the conversion, ensuring the Victorian facade remains untouched. The council has confirmed that work must begin and be completed within three years, and that the new dwellings must stay within Class C3 residential use.
The plans include 21 flats on the first and second floors, offering a mix of one, two and three-bedroom units. Homes range from 37 to 81 square metres and will have natural daylight to all habitable rooms. A lift will be installed to improve access. The double-height ground floor will remain in non-residential use, with the developer saying its layout is unsuitable for conversion to housing. The future purpose of the ground-floor space has not yet been determined.
A secure cycle store for at least 23 bicycles must be installed before anyone moves in. Residents, except those with disabilities, will not be eligible for on-street parking permits in controlled parking zones. All marketing materials must clearly state this.
Newspaper House had been in partial disuse long before the Advertiser vacated the building in 2018. The middle floor had already been cleared, print operations had moved out decades earlier and rising heating costs made the site increasingly difficult to manage. The property was previously listed for auction by Savills with a guide price of £3 million but did not sell.
Kris Talikowski, chair of the Old Town Business Association, said the approval could signal meaningful progress.
“This building has been idle for too long, so seeing progress is positive. But with new residents planned for the upper floors, I hope the commercial potential of the ground floor is protected. Active street-level businesses are essential for Old Town’s economic mix, identity and daily footfall. This should not become another fully residential block that turns its back on the historic high streets of Old Town.”
The developer now has three years to complete the internal conversion. Attention will turn to how the ground floor might be brought back into commercial or community use and what role the wider site could play in Old Town’s regeneration.
