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Nov 2020

Environment

Civic Society opposes bid to convert Harrogate's former post office

Published: 30 Nov 2020, 06:10 GMT

by John Plummer

The society says the application would encourage retail and make the area more vibrant but has concerns about plans to add a fourth floor to the building. The post office relocated to WH Smith last year.

Harrogate Civic Society is to oppose plans to convert the town's former post office into offices and 25 flats.

Post Office Ltd wants to add a fourth floor on to the three-storey sandstone terraced building, which closed last year after more than 100 years as a post office.

The society, which is a charity that aims to keep Harrogate beautiful, said in a statement it welcomed the principle of redeveloping the site into a mixed-use facility but added:

"We are, however, concerned about the impact of an additional floor to this building in the conservation area, as the proposal does not address the whole of the building as originally designed.

"The appearance of the new floor results in a design solution which is not fully considered or refined and therefore does not enhance the existing roofscape in its present form."

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Property development company One Acre Group has submitted plans on behalf of Post Office Ltd to Harrogate Borough Council to convert the building. If approved, work could start in the summer.

The post office controversially relocated to WH Smith last year amid claims by Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones the service was being “downgraded”.

The society said the application would encourage retail and make the area more vibrant. It added:

"We support the principle of re-use of vacant upper floors in the town centre for residential purposes.

"We believe this concept should be encouraged and developed in all areas of the town centre so that buildings and streets as a whole appear to have life at all times."

But the organisation said it was "concerned about the relationship of the proposed extension to the existing buildings along Cambridge Terrace", adding:

"The society is of the opinion that the developer’s proposal as it stands should be resisted."

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Civic Society opposes bid to convert Harrogate's former post office

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