Campaigners hope Northampton bus depot will be listed

Campaigners say there is "an historic value to this rare building", which was bought for £3m by West Northamptonshire Council

Campaigners hoping to save a tram and bus depot from redevelopment have applied for listed building status.

The building in St James, Northampton, opened in 1904, had a remodel in the 1930s and has been empty since 2013.

Save the Depot's Graham Croucher said it was a "rare building and we are determined to protect it".

Dan Lister, from owner West Northamptonshire Council, said the council would "consider" the listing application.

The site has been disused since 2013 and the council said it was "committed to retaining the historical and iconic frontage"

The council bought the depot in November for £3m as part of a regeneration scheme and hopes the site will provide "much-needed high-quality homes".

The listed building application was submitted to Historic England on 17 January, according to Northampton Transport Heritage.

• Office move 'will save £350k per year' - council

• Councillors 'not consulted' over £3m depot purchase

• Town history to be celebrated with 'heritage park'

Its chair Mr Croucher, who is leading the Save the Depot campaign, said the council needed "to allow the listing process to determine any historic value, for local people to have their say and to keep to their promises".

Listing celebrates a building's architectural and historic interest and gives it extra legal protection within the planning system.

St James bus depot is a four-acre (1.6ha) site

The St James Road site was initially a tram depot, before becoming a bus garage in the 1930s.

That decade also saw the construction of an art deco building, which still bears the name "Northampton Corporation Transport Offices" over the door.

The last bus left the garage in 2013 and the site has been disused ever since, although it was sold to the shoe company Church's some years ago.

Mr Lister, cabinet member for economic development, town centre regeneration and growth at the Conservative-run council, said: "West Northamptonshire Council is working with a team of architects who will consider future options to unlock this key brownfield site and provide a regenerated space for the local community.

"The media statement on 22 January is the first time the council has been made aware of the application to Historic England."