PLANS have been proposed to transform a vacant commercial property into a three-bedroom home.

20A Watling Street, Corbridge, was last occupied by two businesses, which had both ended their tenancies by April 2023. On the ground floor was Holmes Emporium, an icecream parlour, and The Ritual Rooms, a beauty treatment room, was located on the first floor.

The application was submitted to Northumberland County Council by the agent Doonan Architects Ltd to convert the commercial premises into a single home.

The terrace was originally a residential property before it became a commercial site.

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The property is not a listed building, although it is located within the Corbridge Conservation area.

The internal layout will be modified to link the ground and first floor, but there will be no exterior alterations except to remove the businesses' signs from the stonework.

A design and access heritage statement said: "The only changes in terms of physical character are entirely internal which are required to provide an acceptable level of residential accommodation and do not have any impact upon the historic character of the Conservation Area, and do not change its relationship with the Listed Buildings.

"The proposals remain sympathetic to the area's character, and will restore the use of the building to residential, which was the intended use of the building in its construction.

"It is considered that due to the existing wide variety of commercial businesses, the loss of one retail unit is not considered to have a harmful impact on the viability and vitality of Corbridge as a service centre.

"It is therefore considered that the residential amenity of neighbouring properties would be protected and the proposed change of use would accord with Policy QOP 2 of the Northumberland Local Plan," the statement concluded.

There are no proposed changes to the building's scale, landscaping or access points.

For more information, go to the council's planning portal and search reference number 24/00564/FUL.