Former post office to become home after appeal

A homeowner has won an appeal to turn a former village Post Office and shop into part of their house.

Huntingdonshire District Council refused to give permission to turn the old Post Office in Warboys, Cambridgeshire, into part of the neighbouring house due to concerns about the permanent loss of a local service or community facility.

However, a planning inspector sided with the homeowners and said the conversion could go ahead.

The former Post Office had most recently been used as a hardware shop, which closed in 2022.

The authority said it had not been shown that the building had been “robustly marketed” to see if a new business wanted to take it over, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported.

However, the applicant argued this was not necessary as there was “no realistic prospect” of the building being used for a commercial business again.

In the application, it explained how the house and the former single-storey Post Office had been built together as a postmaster house and Post Office.

It said the shop space relied on the house for essential services, including water, washroom facilities, electricity and storage.

The application documents said “substantial investment” would be needed to make the former Post Office and shop independent of the neighbouring home, adding that this reduced the “attractiveness and commercial viability of the unit”.

The planning inspector said there was evidence to show a local agent had advised the appeal of the former Post Office and shop would “likely be very limited”.

While they said they were not persuaded the property had been properly marketed, they said the lack of objections from people in the village suggested there was not “tangible support” to keep the shop space.

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