Norwich: Anglia Square plans must be approved, say city folk

People on the streets of Norwich both in the city centre and around the shopping complex agreed something needed to be done with the eyesore site, especially the old Sovereign House stationery office, which has stood empty since 1996.

An online poll found that three-quarters of readers were in favour of knocking down the 1970s-style buildings and carrying out the latest plans.

Norwich City Council's planning committee will vote on the £280m proposal, which also includes 8,000sqm of commercial space, a community hub, and 450 car parking spaces.

Rosemary Carter, who was out shopping in Anglia Square, said she thought the site was the perfect place for homes as it spared green land on the outskirts of the city.

She said: "I can't see anything ever happening, it's been going on for years and nothing's been done.

Rosemary Carter said she thought something had to be done to the former stationary office (Image: Newsquest)

"But I'm all for more housing and I'd rather they did it here than building on farmland.

"The stationery office has been empty for years and years."

Caroline Ashby, manager of the YMCA charity shop in the precinct, agreed there was space for homes but said she did not want to see the shopping area knocked down.

Caroline Ashby, manager of Anglia Square YMCA shop (Image: Newsquest)

"The stationery office needs to go and that would be good for homes," she said. "They need to get rid of the cinema too because it's causing problems, we already had all the leaking which is why it smells foisty in here.

"But we do well in here, there's lots of charity shops in Anglia Square and a good variety of others, it's still really popular so don't knock us down.

"This just needs updating really, put a garden in the middle of the square itself and get rid of that horrible shelter and it will already look better."

Sovereign House would be demolished if the Anglia Square development goes ahead (Image: Newsquest)

One of Ms Ashby's customers, Shane Jones, said he thought a part of the development should be used to help house the homeless.

He said: "It can't look any worse than it does now and we have lots of issues with homelessness in the city, I was myself two years ago.

"Whatever they build is going to be big enough to house some people, I'm not talking about people causing problems I mean people who are looking to get out of trouble."

An artist's impression of Weston Homes' current plans for Anglia Square (Image: Weston Homes)

It comes after Shelter sent an open letter to the city council bemoaning a lack of social housing in the proposal and urging them to block it until more of the planned homes were affordable.

David Whitemiller, who was walking in the area, said he felt it had been a problem for far too long.

David Whitemiller (Image: Newsquest)

He said: "It's become a bit of a white elephant for a number of years, it's been a problem pretty much since it was built.

"They can only improve it. Social housing with space for business would be perfect."

In London Street in the city centre, Evelyn Roberts and her husband said they felt something needed to be done with the buildings, but told developers to make sure they did not gentrify Magdalen Street in the process.

Evelyn Roberts (Image: Newsquest)

READ MORE: Norwich Anglia Square revamp sparks further objections

Mrs Roberts said: "Magdalen Street is very nice, lots of places of interest and different food shops and you've got that nice area near the Playhouse.

"It's just that awful building [Sovereign House], it needs to go.

"I'm in favour of change, but I'm not sure about private housing if that's what they're going to be, it could do with something nice there that everyone can use."

Another shopper, Adam Bradfield, said he would miss the area and wanted to use it as much as he could before it was consigned to history.

Adam Bradfield (Image: Newsquest)

READ MORE: Anglia Square community levy fears reignited

He said: "I will miss Anglia Square, but it's also nice for people to have homes to live in.

"I'll probably still come here shopping while I can, Poundland is my favourite, I hope that doesn't go."

The city council previously approved plans in 2018 that were overturned by the government due to a 20-storey tower.

The current proposal features nothing taller than eight storeys but still has plenty of opposition, including from Historic England, Norwich Cathedral and the Norfolk Historic Building Trust. 

The derelict Sovereign House towers over Anglia Square, where the multi-storey car park has also been closed for over 10 years (Image: Denise Bradley)

Previous plans for a 20-storey tower saw the 2018 approval of Anglia Square plans overturned (Image: Weston Homes)