Former cafe could become an apartment in plan

A PROPOSAL has been put forward for the conversion of an existing cafe to a residential apartment in the market town of Cheadle.

A planning application has been submitted to Staffordshire Moorlands District Council for the conversion at 7A, Cheadle Shopping Centre.

The application concerns the first floor of a two-storey brick building, which was utilised as a café, situated to the west of Tape Street Car Park. The ground floor of the property is occupied by Wardle Travel.

A heritage statement, submitted on behalf of the applicant by Hewitt & Carr Architects, said: “The property is not a nationally nor locally listed building. However, it lies within Cheadle Conservation Area.

“This application concerns a change of use to convert the existing café at first floor to a residential apartment. The existing access to the first floor is to be retained and there are no proposed changes to the elevations. Similarly, there are no proposed alterations to the ground floor.

“Some buildings on the High Street and Cross Street are still being under used on the upper floors. Although, the problem has been targeted over recent years, the lack of use of floor space can act as a disincentive to owners to keep their buildings in a good state of repair.

“As such, although this building is not located on the High Street or Cross Street, it is felt that the conversion represents an opportunity to respond to this problem within the broader context of the conservation area.”