St James Street, Newport

Type: Refurbishment of historic and listed buildings

Client: MCN Construction Ltd

Value: £600,000

Status: About to start on site

Descritpion:
The project includes the refurbishment of the ground floor retail units fronting St James’s Street. Above, historically residential units associated with the shops below, are returned to their residential use in the form of eight appartments. The reintroduction of residential use in this part of the town may be seen in the wider context of bringing life and activity back into retail high streets outside of trading hours which is founded on a belief in the social, economic and environmental benefits that living in towns and cities affords. The development therefore comprises mixed use, a vital aspect of maintaining sustainable communities and environments. The town centre location benefits from and supports local amenities which are within walking distance of the site and close to public transport and pedestrian nodes and networks. The design includes the use of a common entrance, accessing a shared coutryard, from which a common stair and shared incidental meeting spaces create the opportunity for residents to interact with their neighbours encouraging aspects of shared ownership, community policing and social interaction. Accessed from Lugley street the courtyard and common stair allievate the need for separate residential entrances adjacent to retail frontages. In so doing the scheme avoids the sometimes mean and dark stair access to flats, and reduction of shop-width which such solutions can generate. Instead this proposal seeks to return the retail street frontage back to its original appearance and rythm. In addition the scheme retains the elevational appearance of the frontage above the ground floor and by careful, and intricate planning of the flats and their common spaces, create efficient and usable flat layouts which equally provide a sense of place, and belonging for their occupants. At ground floor level the courtyard creates a shared space and encourages social interaction between the residents.