Plan to replace Ludlow shop and post office with flats is backed
Ludlow Town Council has supported plans to replace a convenience store and post office with a new four-storey building of flats and possibly a restaurant.
The plans for Ludlow's One Stop store, in Tower Street, which is also currently home to the town's main post office, were first revealed in June.
Now they have been officially submitted to Shropshire Council, and Ludlow Town Council has said it will not object.
A statement from Trevor Hewett, on behalf of developer Macham Investments, says the ground floor is planned to either continue as a shop or be converted into a restaurant or cafe, but 10 apartments are to be constructed above it, targeted at "active retired couples" looking for town centre homes.
The new four-storey town-house style building will replace what is currently a one-storey shop. An annex of offices is also the be built in the place of what is currently a refuse store next to the shop.
Concerns remain over what will happen to the post office, with no guarantee it will have a place in the new development.
However, Ludlow town clerk Gina Wilding said town council members were satisfied any issues they might have had with the density of housing on the site, parking provision and access for refuse collection, had been resolved.
"Members requested that a comprehensive archaeological report is carried out and further clarification is provided regarding access to emergency vehicles to the rear of the development," she said.
Andy Boddington, Shropshire councillor for Ludlow North, said: "I would like to hear the views of residents and conservation specialists before commenting on this scheme.
"This site needs developing, though I am concerned that the company could be trying to cram too much onto the site.
"Should this scheme be granted planning permission, a major priority will be to secure the future of the post office."
Mr Hewett said the new building would be an improvement at what is an "important gateway to the historic town" on the edge of Ludlow's central conservation area.
He said: "The proposed building will repair the street frontage and, with a varied roofscape of clay tiled roofs and gabled, lime-rendered elevations, will harmonise with the surrounding buildings.
"The important vista of the tower of St Laurence's Church will be preserved, framed by the new building."
