Go-ahead given to huge Rugby flats plan despite it being loss-making

Rugby’s traditional tower blocks have gone – or are going – but new ones are on the way in the town centre.
By Richard Howarth
Published 20th Mar 2023, 13:05 BST
Updated 20th Mar 2023, 13:12 BST
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With Biart Place gone, Rounds Gardens going and Rugby Cement’s old hq Crown House also in the firing line, the town’s skyline will rise again after councillors backed two new towers in a partial rebuilding of the Rugby Central shopping centre (the one we prefer to call the Clock Towers).

As previously reported in the Advertiser, the owners want to redevelop the end of the centre that comes out on North Street, flanked by the former Argos store and the New Look outlet.

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There will be eleven smaller business units on the ground floor but above them will be the big change – 200 flats.

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The current street scene will be transformed as this end of the shopping centre is demolished to be replaced with the new development of flats and a number of smaller commercial units on the ground floor. With the flats being six floors at the front, rising to seven further back into the development, the view will be very different for some residents of the neighbouring art deco Napier Building.The current street scene will be transformed as this end of the shopping centre is demolished to be replaced with the new development of flats and a number of smaller commercial units on the ground floor. With the flats being six floors at the front, rising to seven further back into the development, the view will be very different for some residents of the neighbouring art deco Napier Building.
The current street scene will be transformed as this end of the shopping centre is demolished to be replaced with the new development of flats and a number of smaller commercial units on the ground floor. With the flats being six floors at the front, rising to seven further back into the development, the view will be very different for some residents of the neighbouring art deco Napier Building.

As previously reported in the Advertiser this will be a slight reduction on the original vision for two seven-storey blocks either side of an open walkway – the North Street frontage will be six storeys rising to seven further back in the development but it will still be a huge change.

With rising material and construction costs having led the applicant to say it wanted to go ahead even though the scheme was not viable on current calculations, a decision was on the agenda for Rugby Borough Council’s planning committee on Wednesday, March 15.

Committee members knew the council’s own study confirmed that loss-making prospect was a reality, meaning the full extent of contributions towards the impact on public services and an affordable housing element was not on the table.

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Discussion took place about viability and the intention to monitor it on an ongoing basis so payments and that affordable element could be reviewed if profitability improves – and about various other aspects.

These included the reality of it being a car-free scheme, reliant on a car club offering shared vehicles plus public transport and the current panacea of bicycle racks; the suggested change to bus shelters on North Street; how the new walkway could offer a performance space and also allow cafes or bars to stay open to their own timings rather than being in a centre with a set locking time; the impact on its art deco neighbour the Napier Building; and more.

When it came to the vote, it was approved ten votes to two.