£125,000 earmarked for Oswestry shop renovation
An empty shop in the heart of a town could soon be open again after councillors agreed to spend £125,000 on renovating it ready for new tenants.
The Edinburgh Woollen Mill building at 12 The Cross in Oswestry has been empty for more than a year, and is in need of repairs to the front glazing and roof before it can be re-let.
Oswestry Town Council, which owns the building, invited tenders for the work in January and town clerk Arren Roberts told a meeting of the markets and town centre committee that quotes had been received from three companies by the deadline of February 15.
As well as quoting for the full scope of work, two of the firms also quoted for a reduced scope, with the lowest being £64,000.
But Mr Roberts said this would require more work to be done in the near future and recommended proceeding with the full scheme, the lowest quote for which was £108,000.
A further £12,000 will be set aside as a contingency, plus £5,000 for licenses, permits and professional fees.
It will be funded from the money the council made on the sale of the Smithfield livestock market site.
Mr Roberts said: “Getting this building back into use is a key project for us.”
He said the majority of the cost was related to the need for scaffolding to reach the areas in need of work.
Councillor Paul Milner proposed accepting the lowest quote for the full scope of work, and this was unanimously supported.
He said: “This building has been empty for far too long now and the sooner we can actually get it repaired and get it back open for the town the better. It’s an iconic building for the town centre.”
Deputy mayor Jay Moore added: “It’s only going to get worse, and we don’t have a choice other than to look after our public assets.”
The shop closed down January last year after Edinburgh Woollen Mill went into administration, despite a rescue deal being struck which saw other stores, including the one in Welshpool, spared.
Advertising the lease on the building following the closure, the town council said it was willing to consider community, commercial and mixed uses.
A report to the committee said the council now had a new tenant lined up.
Mr Roberts added: “We are progressing a new lease, and we will hopefully be able to bring a full lease to you, get the work done and get the tenant in there as soon as possible.”
