Plans have been resubmitted for the site of a Warminster building set to be demolished after it has been covered by scaffolding for over a decade.
The applicant, HK&Q Developments, is seeking to replace 3 High Street with a shop and eleven flats.
Work began recently to demolish the existing Grade II listed building after an order was made by Swindon Magistrate’s Court in November 2023 for the owner to sort out the scaffolding.
This came after multiple planning applications were accepted for work to restore the site over the years, but the deadlines for work to commence passed to no avail.
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South West Wiltshire MP, Andrew Murrison, who branded the decade-long scaffolding an “appalling eyesore”, welcomed the news that the building was set to be demolished and replaced.
The site in question is located beside the Chapel of St Lawrence on the High Street and was constructed in 1731.
The last known occupier was Ciro Citterio which closed in 2005, and the building has deteriorated ever since.
This latest application notes that it has fallen into “significant disrepair".
It also states that “unfortunately, despite the efforts (and considerable expenditure) of the current owners” the option of demolition “is now realistically the only one remaining”.
Submitted to Wiltshire Council on May 28, the plans indicate that the replacement building would be of a similar scale to the one being demolished.
A self-contained shop would be set up on the ground floor level, whilst the remainder of the space would be used as eight two-bedroom flats and three one-bedroom flats.
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The biggest change from previously agreed schemes is that the area to the rear of Curfew Cottage, adjoining the Chapel, is proposed as a landscaped garden for the sole use of the residents as well as to provide a location for bicycle storage.
The application states: “It is hoped that the Chapel and the applicant will work together to enhance the area between the Chapel and the new building for the betterment of both parties and the wider Warminster setting.”
It concludes: “The loss of the original building is something to be greatly regretted. Major efforts have been made to retain it but it has proven impossible to achieve.
“There is considerable pressure from local politicians, neighbours and the wider Warminster public to remove the current eyesore and avoid an increasingly dangerous situation.
“The design proposals will result in a new phase in the site’s history and will provide a significant improvement to the setting of the historic church and the appearance of the High Street.”
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