Town councillors last night (Wednesday) supported new plans to turn a former hardware shop in Burnham-On-Sea town centre into a development of five new flats and two small shops.
Salways Hardware at 11 Regent Street shut down at the end of 2015 after almost 100 years of business.
The applicant is seeking full planning permission for the “sub-division of the ground floor commercial unit into two units, plus the change of use, and conversion of the remainder of the building from commercial to five residential apartments, including a first and second floor rear extension.”
The applicant adds in their application: “The development will provide for two commercial tenancies on the ground floor, providing new small business opportunities into the town centre, and five residential flats in a highly sustainable location.”
The new plans for two shops are pictured below.
Cllr Barbara Vickers told a meeting of the Town Council’s Planning Committee on Wednesday (May 24th) that the “latest plans have been updated to reflect previous concerns and I now support the proposals.” Councillors unanimously voted in favour of the scheme.
In 2017, we reported here that district councillors had rejected a previous planning application for new flats in the building, citing a loss of retail facilities and damage to the character and appearance of the Burnham-On-Sea Conservation Area.
The proposals were amended to address the council’s concerns and planning permission was subsequently approved in June 2018 for a modified scheme. However, the approval had a planning condition attached to it requiring “the development to start within three years” which expired in 2021 – hence the need for this new planning application.
A final decision on the application rests with Somerset Council.
