Plans for Peterborough's landmark Guild House to be converted into 131-apartment development following sale

New plans have been put forward to convert and extend Peterborough’s Guild House into new apartments.

The 61-year-old building on Oundle Road has recently been sold by previous owners Anglia Ruskin University after being on the market for a year.

The three-storey office complex was first opened in 1962 for Mitchell Construction Co and is locally listed due to the fact it ‘forms an important part of the street scene’ and plays a ‘significant local landmark function.’

Filing at the Land Registry show that the university bought Guild House on July 16, 2010 for £2,400,000 plus VAT of £420,000. Details of the latest sale have not yet been published.

The application to convert the building to create 77 new apartments and build four new apartment blocks on the site has been submitted by MJS/Lynchwood Developments Ltd.

The building is locally listed and therefore plans state that a ‘sensitive conversion’ must take place.

Four apartment blocks have been designed to surround Guild House, with each featuring its own amenity space.

Block A would include eight apartments, Block B 12, Block C 14 and Block D 20, with each being a mixture of one and two bedrooms. This brings the total of new apartments to 131.

113 car parking spaces would serve the whole site but the green space at the front would be retained due to its social and ecological benefits.

The application states: “The scheme is divided into four distinct elements. Firstly, the large expanse of grass to the site frontage with Oundle Road is retained and enhanced with increased planting to improve biodiversity.

"This is in private, not public, ownership and will form an important open space asset for residents of the scheme. It also forms an essential element of the setting for Guild House which will be preserved.

“Secondly, Guild House itself will be retained and converted to residential use. The footprint and form of the building is well suited to this use with apartments enjoying good natural light and including in many cases aspects over the rear landscaped courtyard or frontage amenity space.”

The statement added that the proposal would: “

“Ensure the long-term protection of Guild House, a non-designated heritage asset, and the positive contribution that it makes to the Oundle Road street scene.

“Create a distinct sense of place achieved through a detailed analysis of the site context and a high-quality design and layout informed by that context.

“Cause no harm to the amenity of neighbours and create a good standard of amenity for future residents.

"Contribute towards housing delivery on a vacant brownfield site currently characterised by extensive hard surfacing and achieve landscaping and biodiversity enhancement.”

The building which is spread across 60,000 square feet on a 3.69 acres site has been put to a variety of uses over the last six decades.

The faculty has since moved to the campus of Peterborough’s new £30 million university off Bishop’s Road, on the Embankment.

The application will now be considered by Peterborough City Council’s planning officers. It can be viewed on the city council’s planning portal using reference 23/01649/FUL.