250 apartments plan for Wolverhampton's historic Beatties building

Plans are being drawn up to transform the historic site following its sale earlier this year.

It is thought the upper part of the building will be converted into apartments and the lower part be kept for retail purposes, if plans are backed by the city council.

High street giant House of Fraser is due to leave its Beatties home for the Mander Centre, though the move is not expected to happen before the end of the year.

Plans for Beatties have yet to be officially submitted but sources say proposals for its future are being worked on by the London-based firm which bought the building for a knock-down £3 million. No timescale has been put on when work might begin.

With the Victorian building being such a large site, it was always expected there would be a residential element to any redevelopment.

Wolverhampton Council says it has been in contact with the new owner but has not commented any further on potential plans.

New era

If the plans do progress, it will mark a new era for the Victoria Street building after more than 140 years as a retail giant in the city.

The proposals are likely to please housing chiefs keen to see more city centre-based living opportunities created.

Councillor Milkinder Jaspal, a former Mayor of Wolverhampton, welcomed the plans for the landmark.

He said: "There is a boom now for residential property. There is a demand so we have got to welcome it. And there is a long waiting list in Wolverhampton so I wish them the best.

"The worst thing would be to leave the building empty and it becomes and eyesore and nightmare. So I would urge the owners and developers to do the works as soon as possible."

The famous Beatties name has been synonymous with Wolverhampton since the shop was launched by James Beattie in 1877.

It was taken over by House of Fraser in 2005 but the Beatties name remained on the building and many shoppers continued to refer to it under its historic name.