Plan to change former menswear shop into offices

by Lisa Reeves

Thursday 4^th July 2019

Thu 4^th Jul 2019

Plans have ben submitted to change the use of an empty retail unit in the town centre to offices.

Impey and Company have applied to turn the first floor and mezzanine at 29 Alderley Road, the former Hooper menswear department, into offices along with alterations to front elevation, to form new access.

The shop has been vacant since Wardrobe, which had relocated from St Ann's Parade to Alderley Road, closed in July 2018 after trading in the town centre for over 40 years.

The plans can be viewed on the Cheshire East Council planning portal by searching for planning reference 19/2751M.

Tags:: Alderley Road, Planning Applications

Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Deleted Account

Thursday 4^th July 2019 at 3:33 pm

Not ideal step to get shoppers back into poor old Wilmslow is it ?

But don't get us started on out-of- town shopping which is contrary to heaven knows what local plans (you know where we mean!)

So, I guess it's better than yet another forlorn looking empty unit on Alderley. Road, isn't it ?

And there's precedent in what was the old Gas Board shop & is now an insurance brokers

Just not too many offices - right?

Nik Eastwood

Thursday 4^th July 2019 at 5:26 pm

and where will the office workers park?

Chris Neill

Thursday 4^th July 2019 at 6:49 pm

Anybody know if there is provision for all day parking for the staff cars?

Jean Berman

Friday 5^th July 2019 at 6:39 pm

More offices ? So where are these people going to park ? It’s more retail businesses we need to bring more footfall back into The town centre to get it back on its feet again

Angela McPake

Friday 5^th July 2019 at 9:12 pm

Surely this means they are splitting the unit to make it easier to let for retail because it will be smaller and easier to use retail space.
It refers to the offices as being 1st floor and mezzanine level, so I am assuming they are just doing what is at the other end of the block with offices above the shop.
There is also a ground floor and a basement (there are two separate to let boards on the building to reflect that) so assume they are hoping to let that for retail/leisure space.
Don’t disagree with the parking issue for the office staff though

Jon Williams

Saturday 6^th July 2019 at 9:48 am

Not everyone uses a car to go to work !

Jon Armstrong

Monday 8^th July 2019 at 7:41 am

"Not ideal step to get shoppers back into poor old Wilmslow is it ?"

Shoppers aren't coming back to Wilmslow. There has been a clear move from selling products to services over the last 10-15 years and this is likely to continue. We can't uninvent the internet or out of town shopping.

Planning for the future would be looking at how a Wilmslow would be with far fewer shops and planning the alternatives, whether this be services, leisure or even a return to residential.

Lynne Fowler

Wednesday 10^th July 2019 at 7:44 pm

I don't live in Wilmslow - my daughter does, and I visit regularly. Every time I walk through from the station another shop or business has closed and, maybe, another enterprise is set to take over an empty unit, though not often. This is the pattern everywhere though - I live in a large busy town on the edge of East London, and the same is happening, just on a different scale! Jon A is right - shopping habits have changed, forever, the old 'High Street' is not going to return; the younger generations prefer to browse or shop on-line, or maybe have a day out at the Trafford centre - my teenage granddaughter would find nothing to take her into Wilmslow except maybe a coffee shop or somewhere to meet with her friends, and they, and the 20 somethings and upwards are the ones town centres need, I just don't see it happening.