Planning permission is sought to convert the former Rufflander Safety shop into a two-bedroom ground-and-basement-level dwelling at 89 Broughton Road (Ref. 13/00247/FUL).
Locals will remember Rufflander here for its ever changing but somehow always the same window displays of steel-capped boots, high-vis tunics, overalls, hard hats, everything-resistant gloves and thermal lumberjack shirts. We at Spurtle always wondered if the shop might have done better had it relocated to Broughton Street.
If any reader knows of Rufflander's current whereabouts or trading status, please let us know.
*****
The owner of No. 9B Scotland Street has applied to change it from a private dwelling to a 5-bedroom house in multiple occupation (Ref. 13/00245/FUL).
The voluminous basement and sub-basement property has operated previously as both a family home and as the Bouverie Bed-and-Breakfast. In the latter capacity, it boasted of a farmhouse-kitchen ambiance and signature-dish Spanish omelette.
*****
The Albany Hotel's application to build 4 new openings and to erect a partition wall and glazed entrance screen at 37–49 Albany Street has been refused. (Ref. 12/04295/LBC).
Council officials felt the proposed internal alterations would compromise the Category A-listed property's special character and appearance. William Sibbald's early 19th-century design comprises '5 former town houses within a 2-storey attic and basement, 6-bay classical terrace'. Hence, changes require a bit more thought than just knocking down a few walls at your average Travel Lodge.
*****
Permission has at last been granted for Springfield Properties PLC's 'mixed-use development comprising residential and commercial floor space including associated roads and infrastructure' at 14–16, 20, 24, 26 Beaverhall Road (Ref. 11/03374/FUL; Breaking news, 29.6.11, 28.7.11; 2.11.11).
The New Town and Broughton Community Council strenuously objected when plans presented to it by the developer during the Preapplication Notification process were later heavily modified without a further round of public consultation. Fortunately, several key concessions were won by the NTBCC. We shall return to this considerable triumph for local democracy at a later date.