The restoration project for one of Bury St Edmunds’ most iconic buildings has been granted approval today.

Grade I-Listed Cupola House, which was home to Strada restaurant, was severely damaged by fire in June last year.

Today, councillors sitting on St Edmundsbury Borough Council’s development control committee voted 12 to two to approve planning and listed building applications for the building’s restoration.

The approval was in line with the recommendation by planning officers.

Following the decision, architect Robert Light, of Purcell, said he was “genuinely very happy” with the decision, adding: “Not just for the effort we have put in as a practice and the detail we have put into that, but also for the future of the building and our client.”

He added without this approval today, it would make getting the building’s tenant back in a slower process.

The plans are for a “scholarly reconstruction” of the building in the Traverse, including the reinstatement of the cupola from which the building takes its name.

Speaking at the meeting Paul Romaine, who renovated the building from 2003-04, expressed his concern that commercial use was being put before the historic building itself.

Under the plans, more of the building would be used by the restaurant, for example dining would be extended onto the second floor,

For the full story read tomorrow’s East Anglian Daily Times.