Apartments and 12 new townhouses planned for former county training centre in Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury-based company Ryminster Ltd has applied for permission to convert The Hollies - a substantial former townhouse on Sutton Road in Shrewsbury - into six apartments.

The proposal also includes plans to build 12 new townhouses in the grounds of the building, following the demolition of temporary structures.

For two decades, The Hollies had been home to Shropshire Council's county training team until they relocated to Shirehall and The Gateway Education and Arts Centre in 2015. Later that year, Shropshire Council put the property up for sale for £1million.

Today, the building consists of the main 19th-century building and a 20th-century extension which the new owners claim is in a "poor state of repair" and of "little historical or architectural merit". 

If the plans are given the green light, the extension would be removed to "significantly improve the appearance of the remaining house".

The main building, along with a former cart shed, would be retained and converted to form six apartments - four with three bedrooms and two with two bedrooms.

In the grounds of the property, existing demountable outbuildings would be demolished, and 12 new townhouses built. 

According to the application, three of them, each with two ensuite bedrooms, would be affordable housing while the others would each be three-bedroom. 

30 parking spaces would be available, which the developers claim would be "an appropriate allocation for all the proposed residential units".  

The full application is available to view on Shropshire Council's planning portal using reference number: 25/01113/FUL