A DEVELOPER still wants to restore a warehouse at a lock in Stroud despite a costly fire.

Newland Homes is going ahead with plans to turn the derelict building into a shop and flat as part of its canalside development off Cheapside, according to blueprints submitted to the council.

Flames destroyed the entire roof of the Wallbridge Wharf warehouse - abandoned since the canal was formally closed in 1933 - and in turn put the future of the overhaul in doubt.

 

Damage to the warehouse's roof

An already high cost of repair would need to be re-assessed in light of the blaze, the developer told the SNJ after the fire in August.

But the plans - a resubmission of those approved in 2015 - reveal the warehouse will still be fixed, with the ground floor becoming a retail/gallery space and the the first floor a two bed flat.

Not all of the resubmitted plans for the Cheapside remain unchanged, however.

Newland Homes plans to build 47 units, not an original 37, at the land off Cheapside.

In a letter attached to the plans, Mark Kurton of Newland Homes - the project's manager - explains that more homes are needed to make the project "viable" given the "complex" nature of the site.

These resubmitted plans, filed at the end of November, have yet to be approved by Stroud District Council.

Shortly after the fire, police arrested two on suspicion of arson, but they were later released.