Former bank in Willenhall could be turned into bar and restaurant

A proposal has gone in to Walsall Council planners to transform the building on the corner of Market Hill to create a new venue on the ground floor and nine apartments above.

As well as being located at the gateway of the main town centre shopping area from New Road, it also sits in Willenhall Conservation Area and is a ‘locally listed’ building.

Representatives for the applicant, named as Mr Singh, said the development would create around 11 new jobs as well as brining the building back into use after sitting empty for at least three years.

They said there would be work to refurbish the outside of the building while an extension would be built on the first floor as part of the apartment conversion.

Agents Khoury Architects said: “The building has a good sized footprint with expansive shop front space at ground floor.

“The town centre location is ideal for both commercial and living uses and the site offers great potential and sufficient space to comfortably accommodate a number of independent apartments whilst relating well to its surroundings.

“The proposals are largely within the existing building envelope and thus offer no large changes to scale.

“The single storey rooftop extension is subservient in scale to the existing with its pitched and lower roof and small footprint.

“The existing building façades will be conserved and refurbished to restore the existing fabric, the extension will match in material and detail.”

The applicants also submitted a heritage statement in relation to the changes proposed to the listed building.

It said: “As such this development will not then devalue to any meaningful degree the overall significance of the building, both its tangible values, such as historic setting, or its associational values, such as its previous commercial function and placing within the streetscape.

“Indeed, the proposals will effectively preserve the significance and slightly improve the setting of the heritage assets, particularly when viewed from the south east.”