A former sock factory in Newport is set for a new lease of life, with plans to convert it into apartments approved.

Planning permission has been granted, to turn the Grade II listed building, located on Lower Dock Street in the city centre, into 12 flats.

As part of the plans, the first and second floors will be extended to the rear of the property, the front facing façade will be altered, and the roof replaced.

Inside, there is set to be a mixture of one bedroom flats, and studio apartments, set out over the three storeys.

To the rear, there is set to be a communal courtyard space, and bin storage.

Due to the development’s city centre location, and nearby access to public transport, the proposal’s lack of parking provision was not seen to  be an issue, and the application was approved by Newport City Council’s planning committee on Tuesday, November 23.

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What do the plans show?

Historically, 75-76 Lower Dock Street found use as a factory and store – with documents suggesting that it was once a sock factory.

More recently, the building was used as offices – though it has now been empty for quite some time.

While the external aspects of the property retain their original design, the original building interiors have largely been lost to time.

However, the trade off for this is that the interiors are currently in reasonably good condition, and while extension work would be needed to find space for all 12 apartments, major restoration work does not look likely.

According to planning documents, submitted by C2J Architects on behalf of Mathison and Bell Developments, “In an effort to find a long term viable use of the listed building the only viable long term use for the building was considered to be conversion to self-contained residential accommodation.”

Continuing, they said: “In developing the application proposals, careful consideration was given to maintaining the character and appearance of the building.”

In making their decision, Newport City Council granted conditional planning permission for the development – subject to a Section 106 agreement being signed.

It is not thought that any of the flats will be earmarked for affordable housing, as a viability study concluded that this would make the overall development unviable.

However, the developers will be required to contribute £21,867 to upgrade and maintain the play areas in Belle Vue Park and/or Riverside Park, in the Stow Hill ward areas of the city.