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05
May
Original branding restored at historic Starbeck building
Contractors have reinstated the branding of a historic Starbeck building which is undergoing refurbishment.
Hexa Projects completed the move as part of structural work to revamp the former Harpers building on the High Street.
Plans to regenerate the building were finally approved in February — nine years after fire ripped through the site.
Developer Bates Family Investments Limited appointed Hexa Projects Ltd as the main contractor for the development.
Contractors restore the Harpers building branding in Starbeck.
Darrell Norris, operations manager at the contractor, said the original stonework sign was reinstated last weekend.
He said:
The stonework had previously been removed in stages, some following the initial fire in 2018 and the majority when we took possession in January due to its instability.
The move follows work to re-establish the site’s framework, which was damaged due to fire.
The Harpers building, next to St Andrew’s Church, was originally a grocery store.
How the redeveloped site will look. Image: E3 Architecture.
It later became a McColl’s supermarket, but had been vacant for two years when youths set fire to it in 2018. It has remained a burnt-out shell behind hoardings ever since.
The current work will see the site restored and brought back into use.
The ground floor will continue to be used for commercial use and nine flats will be created on the first floor and in the roof space.
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