Newbury Weekly News submits plans to convert its offices into flats
Family-run paper wants to move to new building yards away from current home
THE Newbury Weekly News has submitted plans to convert its current offices into flats and move to a newly-refurbished building just up the road.
The plans, if approved, will see Newspaper House demolished and replaced with 84 apartments.
The NWN is committed to staying in the heart of the town and plans to move into the building currently occupied by Skoda in Faraday Road, a stone's throw from where the paper is situated now.
After taking the decision to close its press hall in January and move its print operation to Cambridge, the family-run paper no longer needs a site this size.
Newbury Weekly News chief executive James Gurney said: "Now that our press hall has closed, our current site in Faraday Road is simply no longer suitable for our needs as a thriving newspaper and digital media business.
"We remain totally committed to Newbury and will move to a building that we own next to our current site on Faraday Road once current tenants Marshall Skoda move out in the summer.
"We are very excited to be moving to newly-refurbished offices in the heart of the town and look forward to welcoming customers there later in the year.
"We believe our plans for new homes and office space on our current Faraday Road site will be a boost for local housing and jobs and will be a much better use of the land than a half-empty former print works."
For full details on the plans, pick up a copy of this week's Newbury Weekly News, out on Thursday.