04-08-2025
Changes to city centre shop get the council's approval
A business unit on a busy shopping street in the city is set to undergo some changes after plans for it were approved.
The building in St Stephens Street - which was previously occupied by Yours - will be given two single doors, one in the middle for 39 St Stephen's Street and the other on the side for 41 St Stephen's Street after the single shop was divided into two.
The new shopfront windows and doors will be constructed with PPC aluminium-framed glazing units and the new recessed entrances will also have non-slip ceramic floor tiles.
The unit used to be occupied by Yours (Image: Newsquest) Planners for Norwich City Council said: "The proposed alterations to the shopfront are reasonable, the proposed change to the shopfront is in keeping with the design of the surrounding units and will not significantly alter the appearance or character of the area."
The bid comes after shoppers deemed the road "rubbish" despite it undergoing a multi-million-pound revamp just three years ago.
St Stephens Street is currently teeming with empty units and litter strews the pavement - with one shopper calling it "the wilderness" for how empty it looks.
This has led to calls for more to be done to improve the area, with Joshua Bamfield, director of the Centre for Retail Research in Norwich, saying it needs to be "more accessible to people".
In 2022, the council spent £6.1m in government funds to build bus parking bays, wider pavements, crossing points and installing seating along the street.
Emma Hampton, a Norwich City Councillor and deputy leader and cabinet member for climate and environment, said: "Keeping St Stephens clean is a daily team effort - and a big part of that comes down to people power.
"Our street cleaning crews are out every day using a mix of tools and tactics to stay on top of litter."
