DISUSED offices in central Newport which have stood empty since a devastating fire swept through the building in an arson attack five years ago will be turned into flats.

In August 2017 the upper floors of 17-18 Upper Dock Street were "ravaged by a fire". But now the building is undergoing "extensive renovation" as part of plans to "provide much needed homes and also improve footfall" in the city.

The blaze was started by Sam Price, of Maendy Way, Cwmbran, who told a judge “I like fire. I ain’t going to stop”. In 2018 he was jailed for arson.

Now, planning permission has been granted to turn the building - opposite the old Passport Officer and at the junction with Skinner Street - into six self-contained flats.

No alterations will be made to the outside of the building, which dates from the late Victorian period.

South Wales Argus:

The fire at its peak five years ago. Picture: Lois Wallbank

On the ground floor, there is a convenience store and a sewing shop, but these are currently inaccessible due to scaffolding which has been placed around the property.

The upper floors of the four-storey building are currently unused.

Planning documents note those floors have been "vacant for several years and been subject to recent instances of criminal damage and arson".

Under the new plans, the first and second floors would each provide a one-bedroom flat and a two-bedroom flat, and the third floor would provide two one-bedroom flats.

It will be hoped the proposed flats prove a more attractive offer than the building's previous use as office space. Documents show a local estate agent "advertised the property for sale or let as office space between 2010 and 2017, with little interest and no formal offers".

No objections to the plans were submitted by neighbours.

In documents, council planners judged there would be "no significant or unacceptable increase in crime and disorder" as a result of the building's conversion to flats.

South Wales Argus: The property in Upper Dock Street, Newport.The property in Upper Dock Street, Newport. (Image: Newsquest)

The council also said the project would "result in notable urban regeneration benefits" which were considered to "outweigh" any drawbacks.

But the lack of parking spaces was raised as one concern - the building currently has no on-site parking and one officer said "three-six parking spaces" would be required. But that objection was later withdrawn because of the site's location in the city centre.

Environmental agency Natural Resources Wales (NRW) did not object to the plans but raised the issue of flood risk.

Skinner Street in Newport has flooded previously, and NRW acknowledged the proposed flats - on floors one, two and three- would be "elevated above the flood risk" in the area.

Newport City Council's planners went on to approve the flats proposal subject to certain conditions, including the requirement that all rooms exposed to external traffic noise be fitted with "sound insulation measures".