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Proposals to demolish an art deco-inspired 1930s department store in the West Country and replace it with a 92-home apartment building are being opposed by a range of heritage groups.
Architect AWW’s plans for the Taunton branch of Debenhams were drawn up for developer Ropemaker Properties and would deliver ground-floor commercial space in addition to the new town-centre flats.
However campaign group the Twentieth Century Society argues that the building – built in 1938 and expanded in the 1960s in a way that complemented the original structure – should be retained and converted to deliver new homes instead.
The group said changing shopping trends coupled with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic had plunged the future of an increasing number of 20
AJ Retrofit Awards 2021 winners revealed
with Pearson Lloyd has been named AJ Retrofit of the Year 2021
The conversion of a warehouse in Hackney, east London, not only found a new use for a building that faced demolition but reused as many materials as possible – both from the site and reclamation yards.
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The AJ’s Rob Wilson and Fran Williams, who chaired the various judging panels, said the winning project was ‘notable for having transformed some previously unremarkable and ramshackle commercial structures into a rather poetic and beautiful whole’.
The scheme, which also won the Workplace under 2,000m² category, was revealed as the overall winner at the AJ Retrofit Awards virtual awards event held on Wednesday 24 February.
Mixed reaction to plans to replace flagship Debenhams store in Taunton with 92 flats It has no character to fit in with the town s architecture
Updated
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Plans to replace the flagship Debenhams building in Taunton town centre with 92 new flats have drawn a mixed response from locals.
Debenhams in Taunton could be demolished and transformed into 92 flats
The future of the store is in jeopardy after the chain collapsed earlier this month
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The flagship Debenhams store in Taunton town centre could be demolished and turned into apartments under plans that have been submitted by a developer.