A change of use application has been submitted to ABC Council for a commercial premises in Portadown to be redeveloped into residential accommodation for short term lets to complement the town’s “existing tourist trade”.
The property at 47a William Street comprises a vacant first floor retail unit above an Apothecary and butchery.
The proposals – submitted in the name of Dr Elaine McKenna – request permission to convert the premises into a residential two bed studio for residential short term lets.
According to a design and access statement 46-48 William Street has been used by the applicant’s family since 1890 and they have owned the property since 1932.
It adds that the property dates back to 1880 and during its lifetime numbers 47 and 48 had firstly been converted for a “drapery business which operated from both ground of the property since the 1918 to 1978”, with the owners living above the shop for a large part of this period.
The first floor – which is the subject area of the application – was, according to the design statement, occupied by a jeweller’s during the early 1990s and from then until circa 2018 by a computer recycling company.
It has, since 2018, been vacant owing to a “reduction in demand for commercial office space, limited floor space, lack of disabled access, and general condition of the property, etc.”
The proposal to convert the space into a “residential two bed studio” for short term lets to “service demand from people retuning for short stays with family, people on holiday and professionals working”, would bring the property back into to operational use.
The application argues that the development would also “complement the existing tourist trade” and also “satisfy short term let requirements of local industry for short term lets for visiting professionals”
According to the plans, the property would continue to be accessible from William Street and would comprise a hallway, kitchen/dining/living area, bedroom spaces and an external balcony over the flat roof to the rear of 48 William Street.
Both bedrooms would also have access to their own en-suites.
The works would include the dry lining of existing walls and new stud walls with new shower and bathrooms to be served by existing connections to the public sewer. The existing window widths and heights intend to be retained throughout.
There would be no changes to the elevation facing William Street.
The application is due to be advertised shortly.
