01/04/2021
What a difficult year this has been. For anybody who thinks that going into property development is easy, think twice because it is nothing like 'Homes under the Hammer' more like agony of 'Grand Design'. I have only just jumped over the first hurdle and it has taken a year to do so. I am so grateful that we were awarded planning permission just a few days ago and thank those councillors and Urban Design/Conservation Officer who passed the application. Extremely grateful for the planning officer who saw the vision at the start of the project. The architect assigned to this project worked so hard, taking over 6 months amending the details to suite the requirements, and for this I am forever grateful. However, do not forget all the specialists that contributed to the numerous reports that was required and assessing the property itself. Finally, my family who had to cope with the ups and downs of my mood swings and providing me with the motivation that things will work out. Therefore, when venturing on property development by yourself, think twice because there are so many pitfalls that are never mentioned, and it takes determination, strong character, and money to continue.
I am grateful for the few news articles on the property. However, I have read the reviews and it does seem that the public are confused on what is happening. The Railway Inn is a Grade II listed building, so has constraints what we can and cannot do. We have worked alongside the Urban Design/Conservation Officer to underline the importance of ensuring that the building structure is maintained but also allows the new homeowners to enjoy modern living. Remember, the building was a pub that has been left to deteriorate when it stood still for 15 years. Therefore, unlike some news reports written, we are not going to demolish the building to build new apartments. This organisation brought the property because of its heritage and aims to keep the originality of the exterior. Moreover, most of the internal wall layout will be maintained with the addition of new walls to create more rooms or replace existing walls that have fallen. Those that stated the building is subsiding are correct. At the back of the building there is subsidence, which is why certain interior walls have collapsed. Unfortunately, certain people that have illegally enter the property during the 15 years of it standing unoccupied, have taken the fireplaces and any copper that are underneath the floorboard. Therefore, most of the originality of the internal structure has been removed.
Our intention is to work with what we have. However, we must think about the new homeowners, which is why the apartments will have a modern contemporary feel. In totally there will be 7 spacious apartments in the main building, 4 two bedrooms and 3 one bedrooms. The aim is that most of the two bedrooms apartments will have ensuites. In addition to the main building there will be two spacious MEWS, which have been designed to have underground parking spaces. All the MEWS will have two bedrooms with Juliet balconies. All the flats and MEWS will benefit from having their own parking spaces. The property has heritage but moreover, it is situated in the ideal location for anybody who works within the city or even works outside the city but wants city living, everything is on your doorstep without the need of car.
We are now at the second stage of this project, sorting out Building Regulations. Moreover, during this stage, we will be taking it out to Tender, inviting companies and tradesmen/women to bid for the work and choosing the right people for the project.
I hope this has answer some of the questions and hopefully, as we move closer to third stage, construction, I will be able to provide regular updates.
