Small Grants Revitalize Cross Street, Oswestry
A run down street in Oswestry was revitalized for a relatively small investment. Long term vacant shop premises on Cross Street were repurposed, bringing ground floor units back into retail use and developing their upper floors into new homes.
The ambition
The presence of some long-term vacant shops and the unsympathetic 1960s shop fronts gave the impression that Cross Street was run down and empty. The ambition of the project was to reduce vacancy rates there, improve the feel of the street and entice people along it.
Who made it happen
The HSHAZ was a partnership scheme led by Shropshire Council and supported by Historic England. The Project Officer of the Oswestry High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) led this project as part of the HSHAZ’s capital grants and public realm improvements work. The project was delivered during 2022 and early 2023 in partnership with the Future Oswestry Group, made up of members of Shropshire Council, Oswestry Town Council and Oswestry Business Improvement District (BID).
The case study details on this page were supplied by Shropshire Council.
Funding sources
- 5-9 Cross Street had £62,000 from Historic England, £12,000 from Oswestry Town Council and owners put £529,921 of their own match funding into the scheme
- 17 Cross Street had £9,398 from Historic England, £9,398 from Oswestry Town Council, £14,301 from Shropshire Council and the tenant put in £9,534 from their own funds
- 25 Cross Street had £6,000 from Historic England and £6,000 from Oswestry Town Council and the owners put in £9,022 of their own funding into the scheme
- 24 Cross Street, a Grade II listed building, had £4,712 from Historic England, £4,712 from Oswestry Town Council, and £6,282 from the owner
- There was also match funding from Shropshire Council in the form of resurfacing of the road.
The results
The project created a street that looks inviting with the result that more people visit it on foot.
For 4 shops, newly designed timber shop fronts were installed. Their designs were based on 1960s photographs of historic shop fronts in the town centre and are in keeping with the buildings’ overall designs. The street was also resurfaced.
Seeing these improvements, owners of neighbouring shops were encouraged and took the initiative to refurbish their own shop fronts themselves.
At 5-9 Cross Street the project was able to support the creation of 9 new accommodation units so there are now people living on the street who are regular customers for the neighbouring businesses.
The investment for achieving all of this was relatively small. The scheme had a cap of £12,000 for shop front grants and £25,000 for repurposing.
Lessons learnt
- Oswestry Business Improvement District (BID) proved to be an effective channel for contacting local businesses about the grant scheme
- Delivering the project through the established Future Oswestry Group partnership made it easier to adapt quickly to the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic and the inflationary pressures created by the war in Ukraine
- Using old photos to inform the shop front designs worked well. At times you need to be pragmatic and amend designs to accommodate later changes to an old building, such as the addition of a rolled steel joist (RSJ). Nonetheless, pushing for good design is vital to ensure a quality installation
- Establishing a good relationship with grant applicants is essential. Working with them through the application process and ensuring that they understand what is required at each stage to ensure a positive outcome is important
Looking ahead
Having seen the benefits of running a scheme to help businesses to reinstate/repair historic shop fronts, Oswestry Town Council have set up a new Breathing New Life into Empty Properties grant for businesses. During difficult times the grant could mean the difference between a business reinstating shop front detail that was originally there rather than just putting up with a later installation.
Oswestry Town Council have purchased Grade I listed Llwyd Mansion, 1-3 Cross Street. This legacy flagship project will repair and repurpose the empty building to bring it back into public use.
Also of interest
