Flats plan for former building society headquarters

A LANDMARK building in a Yorkshire town centre which dates from the Art Deco era and is now empty is being earmarked for new homes.

The Permanent building on the corner of Church Street and Regent Street in Barnsley was built in the Art Deco style in the 1930s as a base for Barnsley Building Society.

The organisation merged with Yorkshire Building Society in 2008, after being hit by the financial crash. It had large investments in Icelandic banks and the country was badly affected by the economic turmoil.

The merger left the building redundant before it became a solicitors’ office, but it has been empty for the last two years.

Barnsley Council is being asked for permission to turn the building into a complex of flats, with a “high end” coffee shop on the ground floor. Two planning applications will cover a total of 25 flats, ranging from studios to two-bedroom units.

The applicants believe many of the building’s distinctive features, such as stained glass roof lights, could be kept and there would be little change to its exterior.

Planners have been told the scheme would be viable only if 25 flats could be created.

The applicants have claimed that the development should be exempt from providing affordable homes, even though it is a normal requirement to be imposed on schemes with more than 15 new homes.