16-bed HMO plans for Victorian shopping arcade

Architects have submitted plans to convert part of a Victorian shopping arcade into a 16-bed HMO.

Part of the Clarence Arcade on Stamford Street in Ashton lies vacant, with drawings showing six bedrooms on the first floor, seven on the second floor, with a further three bedrooms on the top floor. 

Those units on the top floor will have a shared bathroom, with all other rooms being en-suite with shared kitchen and living room facilities. 

Plans show a cinema room, co-working space and bike store on the ground floor, with solar panels generating electricity for the building on the roof. 

Writing to Tameside Council, Ralph Taylor of developers Paul Butler Associates said: “Future residents are likely to be young professionals working within the Greater Manchester area, on lower wages who cannot afford to rent and pay all the bills associated with a 1 bed apartment on their own, or who prefer to share with others and live in a high specification property which they could not afford otherwise.” 

The Clarence Arcade was built in the 1890s, and although it still has shops on the ground floor, the traditional arcade section is now a series of offices. 

Planning officers at Tameside Council will decide on the potential development's fate over the coming months.