BICESTER residents welcome proposals to convert empty shops in the town centre into accommodation, saying it will bring more life into the town. Plans to knock down the former Dorothy Perkins and Clintons stores in Sheep Street and build two four storey blocks of 28 flats have been submitted to Cherwell District Council. Applicant and freeholder of the site WE Black Ltd says the 28 dwellings will comprise of four studio flats, 21 one-bedroom flats and three two-bedroom flats. One block would face Sheep Street while the other would face Backway Road, with a courtyard garden linking the two blocks. The applicant considers the site to be in a highly sustainable location and so only three disabled parking spaces are proposed.