100 year old former club building demolition

The former Embassy labour club in Lawrence Street, Long Eaton. Image from Google.

A 100-year old former Derbyshire club is set to be demolished and replaced with a three-storey block of flats, but is set to come without any parking.

Erewash Borough Council officials have recommended that plans to knock down the former Embassy Labour club in Lawrence Street, Long Eaton, and build 19 one-bed flats, should be approved.

The former working men’s social club, close to the Moir Medical Centre and a large car park, dates back to 1904, with further extensions added to the central historic building in 1914 and 1958.

It had also previously housed a Co-op with grocery and butchers shops, along with the “Labour Hall”.

The building’s last use was for five retail and office units but it has now been vacant “for some time”.

Plans from Prudent Land and Buildings seek to demolish the premises and replace it with a three-storey block of flats, with no allocated parking spaces.

Its viability consultant says it would not be able to provide any affordable housing or other Section 106 contributions.

The consultant says the sale of 19 flats would bring in more than £2 million, but that the project could cost £2.8 million to carry out.

It claims the average selling price of one-bed flats in Long Eaton is £115,000.

The ONS says the average flat price across Erewash as of March was £103,000.

Prudent Land and Buildings said in documents filed to the borough council: “Central Government continues to encourage new housing development. 

“It is a key theme of national planning policy and councils are required to adopt a positive attitude to housing in both policy and decision making. 

“The local planning authority is currently unable to meet the housing requirements for the area and, therefore, housing developments that reuse brownfield land in accessible and sustainable locations should be approved and brought forward quickly. 

“Such developments also provide opportunities for smaller developers, which can be completed and occupied within short timescales.”

Councillor Curtis Howard, the council’s lead member for planning, said the new building ought to have commemorative plaques attached to it detailing the site’s former historic use.

Meanwhile, Cllr Jodie Brown, new chair of Derbyshire County Council, said the scheme represented “overdevelopment” and would be “visually dominant” with negative impacts for surrounding homes.

A total of 35 objection letters have been submitted to the council over the plans, saying the scheme would increase pressure on street parking and parking permits, with double yellow lines in place for much of the surrounding area.

They also say the scheme would see the loss of potential family homes, overdevelopment, loss of privacy, opposition to HMOs (houses in multiple occupancy) and claims the “building has been deliberately left to rack and ruin”.

Council planners, recommending approval, wrote: “The proposed development would result in the loss of the entire building and as such all historic and architectural value would be lost. 

“The proposed re-development of the site would impose an entirely new character of a different form to the surrounding period properties for which this area is notable. 

“Creating an entirely new character is a tried and tested response to development in a heritage area where the replication of period features could result in a poor, pastiche representation of the surrounding character. 

“Standing alone as it does the site of the existing building lends itself to this type of approach. 

“The council has assessed the submitted financial viability assessment and concurs with its findings. This is consistent with reviews of schemes elsewhere in Long Eaton, where the price ceiling for flats has proven too low to support affordable housing provision or other financial contributions.”