Demolition work to start on former bus depot

The site is composed of a tram depot, a bus depot and office extension and the former transport office building

Demolition crews will move onto a derelict bus depot site this month to start work on turning it into 70 homes.

St James' bus depot in Northampton was last used as a transport hub in 2013, before it was sold to a shoe firm by a former council and then bought back by West Northamptonshire Council for double the price.

The council has received £1.3m in government funding to carry out the work, ahead of its redevelopment.

James Petter, the Reform UK cabinet member for local economy, culture and leisure at the authority, said the regeneration would "deliver much-needed homes and celebrate our town's heritage".

Northampton's trams were based at the depot from the start of the 1900s, before its red buses later joined the fleet.

Following its closure, the Northampton Transport Heritage group started a campaign to save the depot for the community.

It applied for the transport office to be granted a Grade II listing by Historic England last year and the building will now be restored and preserved as part of the new scheme.

Demolition crews will move onto a derelict bus depot site this month

The council said it also hoped the original facades of the tram depot would be kept, where possible, across the 4.5 acre site (1.8 hectares).

It added it would work closely with the heritage group to honour the hub's place in the town's history.

"Throughout the regeneration works, we will work with our contractors to ensure that the site's historic character is respected, while also creating a new community that supports our growing population," said Petter.

More than 70 family homes are due to be built on the brownfield site, with the council saying it would be looking for a suitable developer.

At this stage of the works, the transport office will have its lights and asbestos removed; the interiors and roof of the original tram depot will be stripped out and the 20th Century extensions to the bus depot will be knocked down.