Proposals to turn old bank into a ‘vibrant and welcoming’ cafe

Kieran Molloy, Local democracy reporter

A proposal to overhaul an old bank into a “vibrant and welcoming” café has been sent to a local council.

Plans have been filed with Vale of Glamorgan Council to transform an old bank building in the heart of Penarth.

The application, lodged by Charles M Willie & Sons (Property) Ltd, reads: “With increasing sadness, [the applicant] has noted the apparent ongoing demise of the Penarth ‘high street’, including the closure of all the local branches of the main ‘high street’ banks.”

It continues: “His vision for the application property is to provide a vibrant and welcoming café home for Wilmores, the well known locally based food outlet operators.

“The site offers huge potential for such a café, with its high street presence, in a fully sustainable location.”

The works proposed on site include remodelling and extending an existing extension, the creation of a terrace area and amendments to the upper floor apartments.

The site’s use class is also proposed to be changed to allow the sale and consumption of food and drinks on the premises, 1 Herbert Terrace.

Formerly, the property was home to the Penarth branch of HSBC, however it has remained empty for several years.

The scheme is supported by Penarth Town Council.

Vale of Glamorgan councillor Neil Thomas submitted some concerns about the amenity space for the upper floor flats and the potential impacts on the community.

However, he also wrote: “I do welcome that [the scheme] should bring a currently derelict property back into gainful use.”

An outside terrace will replace the “frankly hideous” entrance ramp found at the street corner.

The application reads: “The existing limestone and brick detailing of the original building will be cleaned.”

It continues: “All paintwork to the existing bathstone will be cleaned off, and if required the bathstone repaired.

“This will result in the front two storey window bay facing onto Herbert Terrace, with its ornamental balustrade head, being reverted to its original stone appearance, matching the front single storey bay of the adjoining building at 2 Herbert Terrace.”

Ornamental fascias and barge boards will all be repaired and redecorated.