£3M APARTMENT AND OFFICE BLOCK

Plans for a £3m apartment and office block behind the former John Smith clockworks site have been given the green light. Derby City Council's planning committee gave the go-ahead to the development in Queen Street, Derby, despite concerns from some residents that important heritage would be lost. Work should start this autumn and last for 18 months. Developer Wilfred Young Homes put revised plans before the council in May of this year, having withdrawn original proposals last August because the design was deemed to be out of context with the surroundings. The new proposals are deemed to be more appropriate because the appartments are now "staggered back and not in a single block".

The development includes two penthouse appartments, six one-bedroom flats and 10 two-bedroom flats, plus a two-storey office area. The traditional clockworks front will be integrated into the design. However, some residents have voiced opposition to the plans and sought to obtain listed status for the building. The Derby Heritage and Environmental Association of Residents and Traders (HEART) staged a sit-in protest in May as work got under way to clear buildings at the back of the site. It then made two applications to the Department of Media Culture and Sport via English Heritage to get the building listed so it could be preserved, but both applications have been turned down.