Breathing new life into a Victorian high street bank for Whitecliffs Ltd.
The Brief
Whitecliffs Ltd – Former Lloyds Bank Conversion, Stony Stratford, High Street.
Whitecliffs Ltd, a property developer based in Northamptonshire, wanted to convert a disused Lloyds Bank on the high street in Stony Stratford, into five two-bedroom flats and a ground-floor retail unit.
Getting the units rented and into income as quickly as possible was the priority.
Key considerations included:
- Budget and programme – costs and timeframes were tightly managed throughout.
- Listed front elevation – the Victorian façade required planning permission and careful handling.
- High street location – access to the site was limited, with the main entrance on the high street and restricted rear access.
Project after
What We Did
The delivery team followed a top-down approach, prioritising the flats first.
4Front were approached directly on a negotiated tender basis, having worked with Whitecliffs Ltd previously.
Works were planned from architects’ drawings on an open-book basis, with the residential floors completed before turning attention to the ground-floor retail unit.
Scope of Work Included:
- Selective demolition and reconfiguration to form new flat layouts.
- Blocking and forming of door openings throughout.
- Full M&E design and delivery.
- Groundworks and foundations.
- External doors and roofing works.
- Plastering, decoration, and floor coverings.
- EV charging points and resident parking.
- Restoration of the original Victorian staircase as a retained feature.
Specialist subcontractors were used across M&E and groundworks.
Project after
The Outcome
All five flats and the retail unit are now tenanted.
The project finished close to the original design, with only minor changes along the way. A slight delay occurred due to additional work uncovered during the build, including an old water tank, a floor replacement, and a planning application required to create a new opening near the original safe. These were worked through with the structural engineer and managed via monthly progress meetings.
The client was happy with the result. Further work is already being discussed, including a potential 1.5-storey semi-detached development in the adjacent garden.
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