Bank Plain Library Plan: Comments Close 23 September

An application to turn part of the old Barclays Bank building on Bank Plain into a public library, archive, gallery and cafe is with Norwich City Council, and comments on it close on Wednesday 23 September.

The council advertised the application in its statutory notice of Wednesday 2 September 2026. It is listed as 26/00714/F, 20 Bank Plain, and the proposal is described in one line: “New library, archive, entrance, cafe, gallery and associated learning and support spaces.”

Representations have to be made in writing within 21 days of that publication date, which puts the deadline at 23 September.

What is being proposed, and where

20 Bank Plain is the stone and red brick block that runs from Bank Plain round to London Street. Norwich University of the Arts owns it, and the description on the council’s notice matches the university’s own published plans for the building almost word for word.

The university’s page for the building says the next phase covers “the refurbishment of the Project Hall, London Street entrance, reception and workspace areas”, and sets out what it is for:

• “a new public space for the city, featuring a cafe and gallery”
• “a flagship new library and archive, complete with associated learning, teaching and administrative spaces”

The council’s notice does not name an applicant, and we could not read the application file itself: the planning portal at planning.norwich.gov.uk was returning an access error every time we tried it on 14 September. So the drawings, the floor areas and the heritage statement are not something we can report today. What is on the public record is the reference, the address, the one-line description and the deadline.

The building, and what has already happened inside it

The university bought 20 Bank Plain in 2022 and has been restoring it in stages since. Its own account of the work:

• Phase one, completed September 2023. The former banking hall became the Project Hall, which the university calls “one of the UK’s largest studio spaces in higher education”.
• Phase two, opened July 2025. A canteen, a postgraduate hub, student support services and Students’ Union space, linked by a new central staircase. Designed by Hudson Architects and built by NCL Contractors.
• Also inside: the Sir Peter Cook Wonder Hub, designed by the British architect of that name.
• Phase three is the one now before the council: the Project Hall, the London Street entrance and the public rooms.

The building went up as Barclays Bank in 1926 and is Grade II listed. Gurney’s Bank, the Norwich Quaker bank that eventually became part of Barclays, was on the site long before that: the university’s building page dates it to 1775 while its own 2025 news release says 1770, so treat the earlier date with care. More recently the building was home to the OPEN Youth Trust and to a music venue.

The word to watch is “public”

The phrase in the university’s own description is “a new public space for the city”. That is the part worth testing in a comment, because it can mean anything from open to all, to open on weekday afternoons to anyone holding a card. The application description filed with the council does not settle it either: it says “new library, archive, entrance, cafe, gallery and associated learning and support spaces” and stops there.

A gallery and a cafe in the hall of a Grade II listed bank would be a change either way, in a building that has spent the last four years as a university’s teaching and student space.

What it means for you

If you want a say, you have until Wednesday 23 September. The council’s notice gives three routes:

• online at planning.norwich.gov.uk, quoting 26/00714/F
• by email to planning@norwich.gov.uk
• by post to City Hall, St Peters Street, Norwich NR2 1NH

Two practical notes from the notice itself. The council says it cannot offer face to face appointments to view planning documents at the moment, because its customer centre is in use as an NHS vaccination site. If you cannot get online, the number to ring is 01603 989342 and staff will work out another way to get the papers to you.

We could not open the online file today either, so if you hit the same error, the phone route is the one that will work.

Other applications in the city are on our Norwich planning news page, and the council is separately inviting bids for culture grants of up to £7,500, which close a week later.

Sources

• Norwich - Multiple Applications for Planning and Listed Building Consent, Norwich City Council statutory notice, Wednesday 2 September 2026, for reference 26/00714/F at 20 Bank Plain, the proposal wording, the 21-day representation period, the three ways to comment, the 01603 989342 number and the note about the customer centre being used as a vaccination site.
• Bank Plain, Norwich University of the Arts, read 14 September 2026, for the address, the 1926 Barclays Bank build, Gurney’s Bank from 1775, the previous OPEN Youth Trust and music venue uses, the Project Hall, the Sir Peter Cook Wonder Hub and the quoted phase three description.
• Norwich University of the Arts opens Phase Two of landmark Bank Plain building, 14 July 2025, for the 2022 acquisition, the Grade II listing, phase one completing in September 2023, phase two opening in July 2025, Hudson Architects, NCL Contractors and the 1770 Gurney’s Bank date.
• planning.norwich.gov.uk was tested repeatedly on 14 September 2026 and returned HTTP 403 on every request, including the site root, which is why no application documents are quoted here.