Claim ‘very little has happened’ to ‘prominent’ building despite hotel and flats plans

A councillor in Newport has called for progress on the redevelopment of the city’s former tax office.

Planning permission was granted previously for a 123-room hotel or new homes at Crown Buildings, which overlooks Clarence Place.

St Julians ward councillor Carmel Townsend said the office is in a “prominent” location along “one of the city’s gateway routes”.

But despite the consent for two separate redevelopment projects, she said “very little has happened on the site for some time”.

Cllr Townsend, a Liberal Democrat, also claimed “a lot of rubbish has accumulated in the car park” on the site.

In a written cabinet question, she asked whether the council had “engaged with the developer to move forward with the plans”.

She also asked whether the site could be “tidied up” in the “interim”.

In response, Cllr Saeed Adan, the cabinet member for housing, said there had been “ongoing engagement between officers and the site owners”.

“All parties are keen to see the building put to good use”, he said, explaining that while he was unable to disclose “specific details”, the council is “fully committed to supporting efforts to secure a sustainable, long-term future for the site”.

“I note your concerns regarding the upkeep of the site – we will work with the owners to support its responsible management,” he added.

The city council granted planning permission in January 2019 for the building’s use to be changed from offices to a hotel – including proposals for a new restaurant on the fifth floor.

At the time, council planning officers said the building was at “an important gateway to the city” and said Clarence Place “was in need of improvement to the overall street scene and environment”.

The hotel proposal “clearly reflects the growing status of Newport as a destination” and would create “significant” employment opportunities, they added.

Then, in July 2019, councillors approved a separate change-of-use application for the building, granting permission for 56 new flats.

Those proposals also included a ground-floor gym and a roof top garden.

Both applications were made by a Mr M Nazir, and at a council planning committee meeting his agent, from LRJ Planning Ltd, said the intention was to “weigh both up and proceed with the scheme which is more suitable for the regeneration of this area”.

In recommending the scheme be approved, planning officers said at the time that “although not currently at risk, if the Crown Buildings cannot find a future economic use then it is likely to deteriorate and would not contribute positively to the area”.

Mr Nazir was contacted for comment via his previous planning agent.