Flats plan for vacant warehouse

The vacant warehouse could be turned into residential flats

A vacant warehouse in North Yorkshire could be converted into residential flats if plans are approved by the council.

An application has been submitted to North Yorkshire Council to revamp the empty warehouse at the back of 75 Baxtergate, near Whitby town centre.

However, the application proposes some external alterations which could “impact the conservation area” in the town.

The council has not yet set a date to consider the plans.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the application states the warehouse was last used for retail storage by a “long-standing and well-known local toy shop” but was now unused.

Proposed alterations to the building include the addition of replacement windows and the insertion of a “small conservatory-type roof light in the forward roof slope”.

The plans also state that “to ensure a sympathetic development, a sensitive approach has been taken to the scheme which preserves the aesthetics of the building and will reflect its commercial origins”.

So far, the council’s residential regulation manager has responded to the application and said he had “no objections to the proposals on housing grounds”.

Representations are currently open and members of the public wishing to share their views can contact the authority.

The application concludes that introducing a new use to the building would help ensure its preservation.

It adds that “sympathetic alterations will preserve the character of the conservation area and the settings of nearby listed buildings”.