Green light to revamp 'uninhabitable' Oswestry town centre building

A largely vacant building in a north Shropshire town centre is set to have a new lease of life after planning chiefs approved its regeneration.

Consent has been awarded to proposals by applicant JAL Built Environment to renovate 3 Willow Street in Oswestry.

The building, which dates back to the 1800s, is empty except for hair and nail salon Mood which opened there last autumn and was described as "uninhabitable" in the original planning application.

The approved plans will see the collection of buildings regenerated to create new commercial space and residential space.

The address is registered under three separate titles.

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3 Willow Street comprises the whole of the front building including the ground floor shop and the first floor and these would be used commercially and known as 3 Willow Street going forward.

3a Willow Street sits at the rear of the site and was once home to Bromleys café. This will be the last part of the redevelopment and its final use is currently unknown therefore will be subject to a separate, future application.

3b Willow Street, which is the section to the rear of the shop, will undergo a wholesale refurbishment and become three-storey residential accommodation.

Part of the land to the rear will form the garden and yard area for the two-bedroom unit which will receive its own, new title.

The building has a varied history and changed hands several times in the 1800s, the planning application said. It was home to a shoe shop, a milliner and then a grocer before becoming the Bulls Head pub.

"In more recent years, parts of the buildings have been occupied by a café and barbers shops until they fell vacant and uninhabitable," the application added.

A report by planning officers at Shropshire Council said: "The site occupies a prominent position within Oswestry town centre and lies within the conservation area.

"While the building is not statutorily listed, it is considered likely to represent a non-designated heritage asset by virtue of its age, historic shopfront, decorative architectural detailing and traditional window openings.

"The proposal represents an appropriate and sustainable form of development which would bring vacant and under-utilised floorspace back into active use while preserving and enhancing the character and appearance of the Oswestry Conservation Area."