Listed Holywell bank could be converted into apartments

A listed town centre bank could be transformed into six new apartments.

Proposals have been submitted for the former NatWest building on Holywell High Street, which was originally built in the mid-19th century.

The bank closed in May 2017 because the company claimed an increasing number of customers were turning to internet and telephone banking.

A new mobile bank was set up in its place to visit the town once a week.

Around the time it was put on sale, the company said it was looking for offers in the region of £75,000 for the 4,000 sq ft property.

Its owners have now applied for the building to be converted into six new apartments and said it would help to regenerate the town.

In a planning application, they said: “The former National Westminster Bank premises reflect the prosperity of the town in the early 19th century as an industrial town and a trading/pilgrimage centre.

“The bank was re-modelled in the mid 19th century as a banking hall of an imposing scale.

“The bank building has been vacant and for sale for over a year and although the outer shell of the structure is currently in good condition, an extended further period of vacancy would place the listed building at risk of deterioration.

“The proposal is to convert all the floors of the existing building into six self-contained apartments, each having a single or two bedrooms.

“The proposal will enhance a designated historic building and will assist in the regeneration and revitalisation of this part of Holywell Conservation Area.”

Two apartments would be created on each floor under the plans, with two single-bed apartments on the second floor and four two-bed apartments on the floors below.

The developers said there would be ‘minimal’ changes to the layout of the first and second floors.

A new lobby area would be built on the ground floor, along with a staircase linking it to the first floor.

They added that the outside of the bank would remain intact.

Flintshire Council is aiming to make a decision on the proposals by January 8, 2018.

By Liam Randall – Local Democracy Reporter (more here).