Town centre Aldi and more homes could spell the end for two of Rugby's office blocks

The future of Cemex House in Evreux Way has been debated for a number of years and with Cemex looking to relocate staff, Aldi went public in July with its plans to clear the site and build there, with access from Corporation Street.

It already has stores in Hillmorton and at Central Park by Coton Meadows but is now looking to add a third, situated alongside the recently-opened McDonald’s.

A planning application has now gone in for the scheme, along with Stepnell’s separate bid for outline permission to replace its underused office development in Railway Terrace with 120 apartments.

Full details of both can be found on Rugby Borough Council’s website with the Aldi plan having a reference number of R22/1102 and the Myson House scheme being R22/1035. Comments on the former are wanted by November 25 and for the latter, by the day before.

Aldi launched a consultation on its plans after its announcement in July having already looked at three possible schemes for the corner site, opting for the choice that had the Corporation Street access, with the back of the store then facing the town hall.

The retailer, which has continued to boom and draw shoppers from the traditional supermarkets – triggering various price-match initiatives with Aldi as the standard – says it will be spending £5m plus to redevelop the site and will create up to 45 new jobs.

And like its other outlets it will be only single-storey, transforming the view for those passing through the town especially for those heading from Leicester Road where Cemex House is straight ahead.

In terms of Myson House, Rugby-based Stepnell says it has owned the 50-year-old building for the past 30 years but use of it has fallen away and covid has left it largely empty.

In previous discussions with the borough council, it says it considered whether the existing building could be refurbished but says with the materials used and the design, it wanted to start afresh.

In terms of scale, its application points out there is a six-storey block of homes nearing completion diagonally opposite as part of Charolais Gardens.

Stepnell’s plans are for its two new blocks to face Railway Terrace in a similar way to Myson House with car parking at the back, though the number of spaces will be reduced from the current 166 to what it expects to be around 108. It acknowledges this does not equate to one space per flat but says it well beyond what is being offered on the cattle market site across the road.

Each block would have a mixture of two-bedroom and one-bedroom homes, 54 in one and 66 in the other, with a mix of properties for rent and sale.

Though only an outline application it suggests a number of features that would be part of a subsequent detailed application – among these is the prospect of solar panels on the roof as part of a commitment to a scheme that meets modern expectations.