Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Penthouse and flats plans for block
One of Canterbury’s ugliest buildings could be turned into flats - with a plush rooftop penthouse boasting panoramic views.
Artist’s impressions from Clague Architects reveal the latest plans for run-down Newingate House. Dating back to the 1960s, the fading five-storey building in Lower Bridge Street along the city’s ring-road has been earmarked for 32 flats. Alongside the penthouse, the developer’s proposals include putting multi-coloured panel cladding on Newingate House’s grey brickwork, offering splashes of red and yellow. The move means a previously proposed rooftop restaurant for the tower block will be scrapped - more than two years after the pandemic saw the project shelved.
The plans are the brainchild of Languageuk - once known as the Girne American University - which has a base nearby in St George's Place. In papers submitted to Canterbury City Council, the building owners said: “The proposal is an exciting refurbishment of a tired and under-used building
which will bring it back into use as a vibrant asset to the city.
“This proposal enables the longer-term plans of the applicant for refurbishment of Newingate House and the provision
of residential accommodation on this site.
“In the past, much of the office accommodation has been empty and tenants have been hard to secure.
“The proposals for
Newingate House presented here have been carefully considered to facilitate the proposed use as residential accommodation.”
A bid to turn part of the building into 10 flats was approved in 2019, while a change of use application to transform the remainder of the block was also given the green light last year, bringing the total number of homes up to 32.
There would be 14 one-bedroom flats and 18 two-bedrooms, while the penthouse could be presented as a threebedroom site offering eyecatching views across the city – including of Canterbury Cathedral.
Works to demolish an existing side office block attached to Newingate House to make way for a new five-storey extension are yet to commence. Residential access will be gained via Ivy Lane with six car parking spaces and 33 cycle slots available to future renters.
Formerly used as offices, the block has been empty for years with many of its former tenants departing before the pandemic.
The building has been actively advertised to let for the last decade - yet only a half floor had been used during this period on a rolling temporary basis and there has been no interest from any other parties.
A previous vision to have an entertainment venue offering indoor crazy golf, table tennis and darts on the lower levels was ditched by the applicants after council officers criticised the loss of office space in the original proposal.
In 2009, a bid to refurbish and convert the site into 91 student accommodation units with retail space was snubbed by council officers. Canterbury City Council planning chiefs are expected to make a decision on the latest proposals later this year.
‘The proposal is an exciting refurbishment of a tired and under-used building...’