Funding brings new life to historic Oswestry properties
Four properties in Oswestry are set to undergo a major refurbishment after being handed more than £100,000 funding.
The Oswestry High Street Heritage Action Zone scheme, which has received funding from Historic England, Oswestry Town Council and Shropshire Council, has awarded £102,000 to help repurpose and refurbish redundant shops, convert upper floors to flats and reinstate shop fronts on four properties in the town centre.
The work will see the properties, three of which have listed status, given a new lease of life.
It will provide a major boost to the town centre, helping it bounce back after the coronavirus pandemic.
Councillor Steve Charmley, Deputy Leader of Shropshire Council and Chairman of the Future Oswestry Group, said:
“The Oswestry High Street Heritage Action Zone is a fantastic project as proven here today with this six-figure sum being handed out to bring the town centre back to life.
“The project is having a real impact on Oswestry and will help regenerate the town as we look to the future.
“It is delivering on our aims to ensure the town is the best it can be and I cannot wait to see the work carried out.”
One of the properties to be given funding is the Black Gate, where the money will be used to create a new home for a local artisan bakery, Niche Patisserie, headed by semi-finalist of Bake Off: The Professionals, Adam Cleal.
As well as the bakery they will be opening a tearoom and shop.
Samantha Cleal, MD of Niche Patisserie Ltd, said:
“Everyone at Niche are extremely grateful for all the support and guidance we’ve had by the Oswestry High Street Heritage Action Zone.
“Through the scheme we have been able to secure funding for some of the costs towards the first fixes to the building to allow Niche to move in and start the process of bringing back to life one of the most beautiful buildings in the town.
“To be able to showcase the Niche Range in such historical surroundings is definitely the icing on the cake for us! We are thrilled and looking forward to opening our doors very soon.”
Another property to get funding is 20 Church Street, who have been successful in securing a repurposing and shop front grant.
Linda Clark, who runs vegan restaurant Fat Rabbit, is opening a second site at 20 Church Street – a Grade II Listed building which will see a new coffee shop and sustainable living themed shop called Forage come to the town centre.
The owner has worked with the HAZ project to come up with a new shop front that reflects the unique shop front that was there before.
Other properties include 32-36 Willow Street and 1 Beatrice Street which will again bring the upstairs back into use as residential use.
The Mayor of Oswestry, Councillor Mark Jones said:
“We are really pleased to see this investment from Oswestry Town Council beginning to make a difference on High Street. The Heritage Action Zone project is an important one for the town.”
Note to editors:
The HSHAZ project is part of the wider regeneration project, Future Oswestry, which is made up of representatives from Shropshire Council, Oswestry Town Council and Oswestry Business Improvement District (BID) and promotes partnership and collaborative working.
About High Streets Heritage Action Zones
The High Streets Heritage Action Zones is a £95 million government-funded programme led by Historic England, designed to secure lasting improvements and help breathe new life into our historic high streets for the communities and businesses that use them. Historic England is working with local people and partners to unlock the rich heritage on these high streets, through repair and improvement works as well as arts and cultural programmes, making them more attractive to residents, businesses, tourists and investors. https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/heritage-action-zones/regenerating-historic-high-streets/
