Plans for 23 homes and a butterfly garden in a former children's centre have been given the green light.
The scheme will see the part demolition and conversion of the historic Eaton Grange Building on Upton Road.
The main building would be converted into seven flats, while the coach house would become a single home and a mix of 15 houses and flats would be added across the site.
A communal garden, with flowering and fruiting species attractive to butterflies, will be at the heart of the project as a tribute to renowned Victorian naturalist Margaret Fountaine who once lived at the site.
The demolition works would see a large two-storey 1950s flat roof structure at the rear of the main house removed.
Speaking at a planning meeting on Thursday morning, Judith Lubbock, ward councillor for Eaton, supported the development.
She said: "There’s been a degree of vandalism to the building, there’s been some fly-tipping and graffiti. All of which have been dealt with by the developer for which I’m very grateful.”
Ms Lubbock said the site was ideal for home development, was in a sustainable location with bus services close by and respected the heritage of previous occupants of the house.
Eaton Grange was once home to Margaret Fountaine, fondly known to some as the 'Norwich butterfly lady', who was an accomplished natural history illustrator, diarist and adventurer.
Ms Fountaine's family moved to Eaton Grange in 1877, before she began travels around the world, which would lead to a collection of 22,000 butterfly specimens, now housed at Norwich Castle Museum.
The latest plans have been revised from one submitted by the applicant LNA Eaton Ltd in 2021, with two fewer properties and a height reduction.
Ahead of the meeting, 22 objections had been submitted to the city council, 16 for the original application and six for the revised plans.
Fears raised by neighbours include the number of properties being too high, outdoor space too limited and the proposal looking out of character with surrounding properties.
An agent for LNA Eaton said it had been a “tricky” site but the scheme will "bring this vacant building back to life".
The main building was most recently used as a children's centre, which closed in 2017, having been identified as surplus NHS land following a review.
Councillors unanimously approved the plans.
Who was Margaret Fountaine?
Born in 1862, she was the eldest of seven children of a Norfolk clergyman and grew up at Eaton Grange.
In 1878, she began keeping a diary which she would continue until her death in 1940. During her life, she travelled the world collecting butterflies in 60 countries across six continents.
She suffered a heart attack, aged 77, while collecting in Trinidad. She is said to have been found dead with a butterfly net in her hand and was buried in an unmarked grave on the island.
She acquired greater fame after her death and her extensive butterfly collection was only opened 38 years after her death. In accordance with her will it had been deposited at Norwich Castle Museum in the year of her death. She had also provided that the collection was only to be opened in 1978. A box and ten display cases with more than 22,000 specimens had been deposited.
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