Plans could see former Rushden high street bank changed to flats

Plans have been submitted to redevelop a bank on a Northants high street into flats after the building closed its doors in a shift to online banking.

The former NatWest bank in Rushden High Street, which served the community for more than a century, has now sat vacant for almost two years.

Developer 1836 Ltd has applied to North Northamptonshire Council to repurpose the old building, on 43 High Street, to encompass seven flats.

If the plans are approved, the three-storey property would comprise two two-bedroom units and five one-bed apartments.

The NatWest Bank celebrated its 130th anniversary in 2018, starting its life as the Northamptonshire Union Bank in 1889.

It shut its doors in 2022 as part of a series of closures across the country due to a rise in online banking and a drop in footfall for in-person customers.

The application site is located within the Rushden Conservation Area, however the former bank is not a listed building.

The ground floor entranceway facing the High Street, which used to be the banking hall, will not form a part of the application and will be retained for commercial use.

Instead, the former office and storage space of the bank located behind the banking hall and on the upper floors would make up the new flats.

A new entrance into the residential part of the building, which can’t be seen from the High Street, will be made at the rear to separate the two uses.

The developer wrote that the plans would therefore ‘not impact on the character or sustainability of the Conservation Area’.

The flats can be accessed through an alleyway on the High Street leading to the back of the building, or an existing car park to the rear of the property off Alfred Street.

The application was validated on Monday, February 19.

No committee or decision date for the plans has been set by NNC as of yet.

For more information on the application, visit the planning pages of North Northants Council’s website.