SCAFFOLDING hiding the Costa Coffee shop in Trowbridge town centre has been removed as work progresses on a £1 million project to redevelop the building.

The first section of scaffolding above 21-23 Fore Street was removed this week to reveal that the stonework of the building has been newly cleaned and repaired.

Trowbridge Town Council leader Cllr Stewart Palmen said: “Great to see the scaffolding down above Costa now! What a lovely building it is!”

Local construction firm, Stone Developments Wiltshire, run by husband and wife Craig and Kerry Stone, is breathing new life into the building.

The family-owned firm is converting the upper floors into nine apartments, with three commercial retail shops, including Costa Coffee, on the ground floor.

The work is taking place with a grant from the £16.3 million of Future High Street Funds awarded to Wiltshire Council for Trowbridge.

The council has awarded grants to local businesses to breathe new life into empty residential and commercial premises.

The aim is to help revitalise the town centre and the night-time economy by encouraging more people to shop and live there.

Wiltshire Times: Scaffolding hiding the rest of 21-23 Fore Street in Trowbridge is expected to come down soon.Scaffolding hiding the rest of 21-23 Fore Street in Trowbridge is expected to come down soon. (Image: Stone Developments Wiltshire)

Mr Stone said: “The project is going really well. It’s great to be giving such a lovely building a much-needed revamp, with the help of the Trowbridge Future High Street Fund.

“Now that the scaffolding is down we are getting an idea of what the building looks like from the outside.”

Stone Developments prides itself on bringing modern design and quality to repurpose unoccupied buildings and improve the local landscape.

“Our main goal is to bring properties back to life and develop land, to provide quality homes for local people, whether that’s in the sales or private rental market,” Mr Stone said.

“Costa Coffee will remain and we hope to split the old Thomas Cook unit into two smaller units, to keep rents affordable."

One of the shops will be occupied by a Trowbridge estate agency which is relocating its offices, while the other unit is being readvertised after a prospective tenant pulled out.

Mr Stone added: “We have obtained planning permission to convert the unused, dilapidated upper floors into apartments and these will be sold on the open market once complete.”

Stone Developments is turning the upper floors into four one-bedroom apartments, three two-bedroom apartments and two two-bedroom duplexes.