Old car workshop in Harborough to be demolished to make way for flats

The building will be knocked down and flats built in its place.

An old car workshop in Market Harborough is to be demolished and replaced with 10 new flats.

Applicant Dal Banning has been granted permission by Harborough District Council to demolish the former Harborough Autos Test Centre and build accommodation in its place.

Mr Banning had already been permitted to build on the site after he submitted an application in 2020 to build nine flats and demolish the old MOT centre.

This was given the go-ahead by council officers, but three years on he is seeking permission to change the layout of the development to make room for another apartment.

Located near the town centre, the new flats will sit in Abbey Street. According to planning documents, all the on-site buildings which were used to repair cars and conduct MOTs for more than 50 years will be torn down and replaced with an ‘attractive, high quality’ two-and-a-half storey building.

It will provide a mix of one and two bedroom apartments and will also have bin and cycle storage. Parking will not be made available as the development is within a ‘short walking distance’ to the town centre.

It was originally planned for the new building to be three-and-a-half storeys high, but this was slightly lowered to ensure the ‘development does not overpower the street scene.

Despite the application being approved by council officers, objections were raised. Planning documents show one resident complained to the council about potential traffic problems caused by the development during its construction.

The resident said: “Abbey Street is currently a one-way road system, due to construction traffic and deliveries with the application, we foresee major delays in exiting our office car park. If the end of the street where it meets Fairfield Road could be temporarily changed to a two way, our car park will not be blocked by construction traffic.”

Mr Banning has until February 2024 to build the new apartment block, the decision notice says, but cannot do so before providing the council with a ‘demolition and construction management plan’. This will contain the details of where construction vehicles will park, hours of development and how traffic will be diverted during building.