3 days ago
Deserted 'litter trap' Post Office up for sale for £500k
A deserted Post Office and yoga studio previously branded a "litter trap" has hit the market for half a million pounds.
The old Post Office at 117 West Street in Fareham was called a "destination for anti-social behaviour" by Fareham Borough Council planning officers.
It has stood vacant since March 2017.
But it is hoped the building can get a new lease of life as it is now up for sale for £500,000, with developers able to transform the building due to fresh planning permission being granted.
Potential buyers can turn the first floor into five one-bedroom flats, while also retaining the downstairs space for further commercial activity.
It would be the first time in eight years that the building would be actively trading commercially.
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In their report to the application, a Fareham Borough Council planning officer said the vacant property had previously become a "litter trap" and a "destination for anti-social behaviour" due to the set back of the ground floor.
The concrete 1960s building "does not respond well to the character and appearance of West Street", the officer continued.
But the property's listing, advertised by estate agents Primmer Olds BAS, said the building is in a location of high footfall with a "prominent road side position".
The estate agents said the property is "suitable for a variety of uses" and it is a neighbour to nearby occupiers like McDonalds, Cex and Nationwide.
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The closure of the Post Office in March 2017 was controversial at the time, as operations moved into a branch of WHSmith, now called TGJones, on the same road.
A spokesperson for the Post Office reassured customers that the same products and services would still be available.
Fareham Borough Council had formally written to the organisation at the time to ask them to "hold off" from the move which went ahead regardless.
The executive leader of the local authority at the time, Councillor Sean Woodward, called the move a "scandalous waste of public money to pay a lease for another five years on the existing post office while moving it to an inconvenient upstairs location in WH Smith".
