WESTBURY councillors have supported plans to transform the town’s former Barclays Bank building into a restaurant/retail space with four flats above.
The application to Wiltshire Council for a change of use at 32 High Street was considered by the town council’s highways, planning and development committee at its meeting on Monday 16th August.
Members voted unanimously in favour of cllr Jane Russ’s proposal to back the bid. Cllr Russ said, “I actively support this. I’ve been round the inside of the site – it’s much bigger than you would think now they’ve taken everything out. To have a shop there is perfect and I can imagine it being really good.”
Westbury’s Barclays branch closed in May 2018, followed by Lloyds bank, which shut its doors six months later.
The plans for the site have attracted public interest on social media. One resident said, “A retailer would be good, but you’ve got to remember our high street relies on the local trade to keep the local business afloat, so a big company/ retail would potentially end up closing some of the small independent businesses we have down. So maybe a small retailer/business could use this facility.”
Another said, “It ought to be what it was built for – a bank, when you think Westbury had three or four, it’s crazy,” while someone else called for “no more food places, charity shops or hairdressers”.
Others felt to have something on the site was better than nothing, but pointed out that Westbury currently has 23 takeaways and sandwich shops.
