King's Lynn fire-ravaged Sue Ryder shop to be rebuilt

The Sue Ryder shop in King's Lynn High Street was destroyed by a blaze

A town centre shop gutted by fire will be redeveloped into a new store and flats.

The former Sue Ryder charity shop in King's Lynn High Street was destroyed by the blaze in 2018.

Permission has now been granted for a new ground floor shop and two apartments at the building, which date back to the 1830s.

The King's Lynn Civic Society said it was "very pleased" that the space was being brought back into use.

The shop front has remained boarded up since the blaze, with an inquiry into its cause proving inconclusive.

The fire ripped through the charity shop on the High Street

Sue Ryder subsequently opened a new shop in the town in 2019, reported the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

An application to demolish the property's remains in 2020 was submitted, but refused by the council.

The original property was a fruiterers, before becoming a hosiers and drapers and, then finally, a charity shop.

A plume of smoke billowed from the blaze, tackled by nearly 50 firefighters

According to a heritage statement, submitted by the applicant's agent, the new property will include the recreation of a decorative timber fascia, clay plain tile roof, retention of the original openings, and installation of timber sash windows and a traditional timber shop front.

The agent said this would "re-establish the property's importance as an undesignated heritage asset within a prominent position in the conservation area".