Plans have been submitted to convert the Grade II listed Kilwardby Street building that was occupied by Ashby solicitors Fishers for more than 100 years.

An application for a change of use to 'six apartments and one dwelling' has been made to North West Leicestershire District Council.

Fishers moved out of the historic building in 2019 and are now based in new offices at the Ivanhoe Office Park.

The building was used as a base for the solicitors for a time, but the now the plan is to create more living space in the town.

A heritage statement compiled by Philip E. Heath of Melbourne says that the proposal is the 'most viable option' for the building which has the address, 6-8 Kilwardby Street - and that the plans are 'suitable and sensitive'.

Andrew Large Surveyors, on behalf of the applicant John Gillespie Sales Limited, commissioned the Heritage Report for a building that was Grade II listed in 1977.

Mr Heath's report to the council says the frontage dates back to around the 1770s - but it was in use as a solicitors from the 1890s and occupied by Fisher, Jesson and Wilkins.

He has reported on the impact the plans for the building would have.

Mr Heath writes: "It is often asserted that the best use for a historic building is the use or uses for which it was built.

"In this case the use was a large private house and solicitors' offices.

"Unfortunately, such uses are no longer realistic for Kilwardby House and the attached offices.

"The house has lost too much of its grounds for occupancy as a single house to be attractive, and its setting is no longer prestigious enough for the heavy investment required to give anything like a viable return upon resale.

"The same is true of the former offices. Moreover, both properties would be too large, given their settings and limited outside space.

"Continued residential use as a larger number of residential units is the next best option, and the most viable one, as it still allows the interior to be appreciated and furnished as domestic space.

"However, some adaptation is required to make it function, and the impact of the proposals is explored below.

"The proposal would create six flats in the main part of the building, approximating to three in the former house and three in the former offices, plus a house spread over all four levels in the rear wing.

"The two main staircases would each become shared, and each of the flats would be on a single floor. The basement and third floor spaces would be for storage only. At the rear, some of the hard surfacing would be taken up to provide planting and amenity space, while still providing a parking space for each unit and two guest spaces.

"The required changes are not significantly invasive on the historic fabric.

"The overall level of any harm is in my opinion at the lower end of "less than substantial" and may be justified by the need to find a suitable, viable and sustainable use for an important historic building.

"It is also desirable that a solution is found and implemented in a timely fashion, as empty buildings are susceptible to vandalism, theft and accelerated decay."

He also reports that the solcitors business had a tragic side to it in 1909

Mr Heath quotes the Leicester Daily Post as saying: "In 1891 Thomas Jesson was living in Kilwardby House next to his offices, with his wife Charlotte, six young children, a cook, nurse and housemaid.

"By 1901 he had moved to nearby Hill House, where in 1909 his body was found face down in a summerhouse at the top of the garden, the throat cut by a razor. He] was 52. The inquest returned a verdict of suicide, Mr. Jesson having been overwhelmed by work following the illness and death of his partner Mr. Wilkins, and having suffered a nervous breakdown."