A major refurbishment has been proposed for Westgate House, the current home of the Beales department store, in Westgate.
The venture will involve the creation of 132 residential one, two or three bedroom apartments, six retail and food and drink outlets plus nine office units.
The scheme has been put together by the award-winning architects Ash Sakula, which says the plans are a re-imagining of ground floor space for shops, restaurants, cafes and other business enterprises.
A spokesman said: “The redevelopment of the Beales store will be a significant regeneration scheme in the heart of Peterborough.
“Integral to the development is the retention of the historic fabric of the existing Victorian architecture whilst introducing a mixed use scheme.”
Under the plans, the locally-listed Westgate House will be retained and enhanced to establish a vibrant street scene while the remaining buildings along Westgate and North Street are proposed to be demolished and re-built.
The existing Victorian building will be converted into a mixed-use residential building containing 45 flats on ground and upper floors.
The remainder of the ground floor will be used for retail, food and drink outlets, workspaces and cycle and bin stores.
An existing warehouse, behind the Victorian building, will be partially retained and converted into a complex of 12 flats.
The remainder of the site will be replaced with two new buildings.
These will be a central, six-storey, building which will contain 38 apartments and the four-storey building which will front Westgate and North Street.
The elevation fronting Westgate will contain 21 flats on upper levels, with shops and cafes on the ground floor.
On the North Street elevation will be 16 stacked duplexes with their own ground floor front door; lower units will have small gardens, with upper units containing large roof terraces.
Large areas of landscaped open space will be provided including play area, vertical greening and raised planters.
Now the architects are urging the people of Peterborough to make their views known about the proposals before a planning application is submitted to Peterborough City Council.
The deadline for responses is March 21.
Beales chief executive Tony Brown said: “This will be a significant investment in the city centre and will transform the area.”
Responses can be sent by email to [email protected] or by post to Hedley Planning Services, Unit 3, Hexham Enterprise Hub, Burn Lane, Hexham, NE46 3HY
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