PROPOSALS to bring three former town centre shop units back to Dorchester town centre have floundered.

Only one is now considered viable with the rest of the Princes House space likely to be converted to 16 small 'co-living' rooms with shared kitchens and other communal areas.

The basement space at the former Dorchester store could be used for a communal gym under the latest plans for the four storey site which dates back almost 100 years.

The proposals also include the removal of canopies, one of the features of the building, and the conversion of the ground floor to create a retail unit on the High West Street end, and the rest of the former shop units taken up by co-living rooms, several 13.6square metres with room for only a bed and a shower.

The basement plans details two shared laundry areas, a bike store and the gym.

The building, once Genges department store, is on the corner of Princes Street and Trinity Street, leading to the junction with High West Street.

It once had a row of shops on the Trinity Street frontage, the corner site having been used for Covid vaccinations.

Initially the plans had been to retain all the retail units but the developers say that, since then market conditions have changed and the chances of being able to find occupiers for all of the units is slim, although the 90 square metre corner unit is expected to find a taker.

Its illustrations suggest a small supermarket. All three units have been marketed since 2023 with little interest.

An agent acting for the building's owners said: "We do feel that the property will better serve the wider community as residential accommodation rather than commercial units as the need for secondary retail space within Dorchester has declined substantially over the last decade, while the demand for residential units is continually increasing to a point where demand outstrips supply."

In recent years the first, second and third floors of the building, parts of which date back to the later 1920s, have been converted to apartments with a small car park to the rear off Princes Street.

The new ground floor rooms, if approved, would have new windows fitted, set back a metre back from new pavement-edge railings.

The developers say they would not expect the occupiers to need a car, but some spaces might be found in the existing car park if required.

Comments on the proposal, P/FUL/2026/03423 , can be made online via the Dorset Council website