Plans to build flats in Ipswich's Sailmakers shopping centre approved

Plans to turn the top two floors of Sailmakers into housing have been approved

Plans to turn the top floors of a shopping centre into flats have been approved.

The owners of Sailmakers in Ipswich town centre applied to convert the first and second levels of the shopping centre into 26 new homes.

The development will have 14 one-bedroom flats, six two-bedroom flats and six studios on the upper floors.

Ipswich Borough Council approved the application, with retail outlets in the centre to remain open.

The proposal said: "All existing retail units would remain. The change of use refers only to storage areas and access above the retail units which are currently vacant."

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In February, Ipswich Borough Council's planning committee decided to delay its decision to allow for a site visit.

The site has previously been used as offices, a school, a car park and a market before it was developed as the Tower Ramparts shopping centre in the 1980s.

It rebranded as Sailmakers after it was purchased by LaSalle Investment Management.