New flats plan for iconic Chesterfield town-centre building

Developers hope to convert and refurbish the first and second floors of the mock Tudor 43 Knifesmithgate, part of the former Victoria Centre, which will create four town centre apartments.

They have promised to work with Chesterfield Borough Council to ensure the ‘distinctive’ streetscape of the area is not affected.

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A planning statement published on the council website says: “The proposed development will hardly alter the general external appearance to Knifesmithgate at all, and as such ensures it fits in with the character of the surrounding buildings in terms of scale and appearance.”

Documents say the new door for the residential units will be similar to the shop frontage.

"The premises are, however, highly visible from the public highway on Knifesmithsgate and form part of a row of similar frontages that are part of a distinctive streetscape,” the planning statement adds.

"While these are not listed they are part of the Chesterfield Town Centre Conservation Area and the applicant is keen to work with the conservation department in its efforts to preserve and enhance the distinctive character of the block of mock Tudor facades locally known affectionately as the ‘Black and White buildings’.

"The external appearance of this facade would be conserved and enhanced.”

Developers plan to create four apartments, two one-bedroom flats and a pair of studio flats.

Philip Riden, chair of Chesterfield and District Civic Society, has previously told the Derbyshire Times he wanted to see new life breathed into the Knifesmithsgate area.

An article on the society’s website details the history of the Victoria Centre and the street.

"This group of buildings is one of the most impressive examples of Tudor Revival architecture in Chesterfield and makes an important contribution to the large collection of such buildings in the town,” it says.

"Indeed, few towns of similar size have such a quantity and range of ‘Black and White’ buildings of the 1920s and 1930s, finished to such a high standard, and it is important that the complete surviving corpus be retained.”