AN APPLICATION to change the outside of the disused Cedar House office building near Malmesbury has been welcomed by St Paul Malmesbury Without Parish Council.

The application was received by Wiltshire Council from Minton Malmesbury Ltd who revealed plans to turn the office building into 30 flats in October 2013 and had their development approved in April last year.

The work will transform the space to be used as a mix of 30 one and two bed flats with parking around the outside of the building and an enclosed garden outside.

Work that will begin imminently includes the removal of an existing boiler on the north west side of the building that will make way for nine more parking spaces and the refurbishment or replacement of the existing paving and steps.

Chairman of St Paul Malmesbury Without Parish Council Roger Budgen said that the parish fully supported the application and were pleased to see the site being used.

He said: “We were very pleased to support it. It was of our neighbourhood plan’s housing allocation and to the parish council seems like a viable use for a disused office building.

“It’s just the kind of thing that Malmesbury needs. There’s more than enough parking there as the parking spaces go all the way around the building.

“We are very supportive.”

Director of DK Planning & Development Limited David Keyte, which is managing the application, said: “The current application is for some improvements to the external appearance of the building and to the land immediately next to it, so as to assist with the change of use.

“Effectively, they will facilitate a typical residential use and appearance rather than retain the existing rather obvious office building appearance.”

To view the documents relating to this application visit bit.ly/1DMkZri