Historic Oswestry building that housed Toni and Guy could be saved as council steps in
One of Oswestry's historic buildings could be bought by the town council as part of a High Street heritage action zone scheme.
The black-and-white half-timbered Llwyd Mansion in the centre of the town has lain empty since hair salon, Tony and Guy, closed in October.
A report to Oswestry Town Council's meeting on Wednesday says the owner of the Grade I listed building has accepted a town council offer of £75,000.
The purchase is still subject to voting by councillors.
Operations manager, Henry Teuma, in his report says there is still £150,000 of town council finding in the heritage action zone pot, which together with contributions from Historic England and private funding could be used for the purchase and repair of the building.
"Should members choose to proceed with the purchase, once the purchase has gone through and ownership transferred to the council, the next steps would be to have an independent valuation conducted on the premises," he says.
"Following the valuation, due to the complexity of the building and its listed status, it is recommended that a small working group is formed made up of members from Shropshire Council Heritage & Conservation Teams, Historic England and Oswestry Town Council.
"Clearly this is a risky project for the council and whilst the building can be renovated and done to a good standard, it comes with future liabilities which are not built into the budget. These cannot be estimated at this point, but the landlord does have some statutory and ongoing obligations."
The report says the purchase could be either as a commercial or a social investment.
"Should it be a commercial investment then it would be prudent to employ a commercial agent to market the property. However, should it be social, the council may wish to seek expressions of interest."
Officers are recommended that councillors accept the final purchase price of £75,000 plus VAT and to delegate authority to the town clerk to proceed with the acquisition of the building.
Llwyd Mansion was built in the mid to late 15th Century and re-modelled around 1604 - the year shown on the double-headed eagle (the coat-of-arms of the Lloyd family) nameplate on the second floor.
