Historic Shrewsbury town centre building dating back more than 200 years up for sale

The Grade II listed building, once home to Alfred Mansell & Co Auctioneers in the heart of Shrewsbury, was put on the market this week two months after Shropshire Council gave the green light for it to be converted into a two-bedroom house with integral garage.

Listing the property, agents Towler Shaw Roberts say the building in College Hill contains a "number of character features including exposed timber beams and brickwork with open mezzanine areas above".

The listing continues: "The property is currently arranged over three floors providing a ground floor garage facility with additional open plan accommodation on the upper two floors and an enclosed courtyard area at the rear.

"The property provides a rare opportunity to acquire a town centre premises offering scope for a range of potential uses including residential development for owner occupation or as an investment," adding that it is located in a "highly desirable residential location within the heart of Shrewsbury town centre".

Shropshire councillors were presented with plans to convert the three-storey building into a home in December, with objections from neighbours who said the plans were out-of-keeping with the conservation area it sits in as well as raising structural and privacy concerns.

As part of the application submitted last year, a design and access statement read: "The property has been in the applicant's family for over 100 years and is used for garaging mainly with areas for storage over. Bar the garaging, the property has been largely unused in recent times with the upper levels currently falling into disrepair."

It said the proposal would "bring this historic building back into use and offer an opportunity for town centre living giving the building a new purpose that will take it forward and protect it for the long term", with "sensitive interventions" needed to make it suitable. This included introducing a second floor to create a second bedroom, which would require a dormer area at the back to create the necessary head-room.

Shropshire Council's conservation officer was initially concerned that the original plans for a flat roof dormer were of an "inappropriate scale", before being redesigned and considered acceptable.

However, some nearby residents were unhappy with the plans, saying the dormer block would do "irreversible harm to the character of the building and its surrounding conservation area".

Another neighbour said the proposals would impact their light and privacy, and other houses next to their garden.

Nevertheless, councillors approved the plans.

The listing can be found on Rightmove.