Proposals have been submitted to the Middlesbrough Development Corporation (MDC) to repurpose the original Charles Clinkard shoe shop.
The store, on the corner of Corporation Road and Dundas Street, opened in 1924 and closed down during the centenary year of the business. In the spring of 2024, plans were submitted to MDC to divide the Clinkard shop into “two retail spaces” as well as convert the first and second floors into five single-bed apartments.
Proposals explained that there would be the same number of employees before and after the transformation. The plans were given the green light on August 29, 2024 by MDC, who are responsible for deciding the fate of planning applications in much of Middlehaven and the town centre.
The reason for approval said: “It is considered that the conversion of the property is acceptable and would be appropriate within the town centre and the proposed mixed-use of retail and residential development will not have a detrimental impact on the vitality and viability of the town centre or on the amenity of the proposed residents.
“The external alterations proposed to facilitate the conversion of the building are appropriate and sympathetic to the existing building and surrounding properties.” The approval notice was signed by Helen Kemp, Head of Planning at MDC.
However, before work can start, certain planning conditions need to be met and approved by the planning authority, these conditions refer to “noise assessment” and the “nutrient mitigation scheme”. The noise assessment conducted by Apex Acoustics Limited, and submitted to MDC, said: “Based on the identified noise impacts and recommendations outlined in this report, it is concluded that the planning condition no. five requirements can be achieved”.
Meanwhile, the “final nutrient credit certificate and Natural England’s receipt for the total nutrient credit fee” was signed off and both documents were submitted for MDC assessment in December 2024. Now the planning authority must decide whether it gives the go ahead.
The decision to shut the Charles Clinkard company’s original store came a month after the business marked 100 years in trading, having grown from a single store in Middlesbrough to operate over 40 shops and concessions across the country, alongside an online store.
The Middlesbrough branch shut permanently on August 24, 2024, while its Redcar store closed its doors for the final time during July 2024.
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