Community Group’s Plan for Listed Greenhill Street Shop in Stratford

Stratford Regeneration, a community benefit society, wants to turn the 17th-century 21 Greenhill Street, most recently an Air Ambulance charity shop, into two small shops with a two-bedroom flat above. Comments close on 6 November.

By Alex Harrington 2 min read Source: Stratford-on-Avon District Council
Greenhill Street in Stratford-upon-Avon, with the timber-fronted 21 Greenhill Street on the right
Greenhill Street, Stratford, in July 2023: No. 21 is the timber-fronted shop on the right. Photo: Philip Halling, CC BY-SA 2.0

A community benefit society wants to turn 21 and 21A Greenhill Street in Stratford, a Grade II listed building that started life as a 17th-century farmhouse, into two small shops with a two-bedroom flat above. Stratford Regeneration CBS Limited has applied to Stratford-on-Avon District Council for planning permission and listed building consent, and comments are open until early November.

On this page
  1. The building
  2. What’s planned
  3. Second attempt at a flat upstairs
  4. Who’s behind it
  5. What’s been said so far
  6. How to comment, and what happens next

The building

Historic England’s list entry describes the building as an early 17th-century farmhouse, later turned into shops and refronted around 1800, with chamfered beams and exposed timber framing inside. It sits on the north side of Greenhill Street near the Windsor Street junction, between Prontaprint and Cafe Cocktail and opposite the Old Thatch Tavern. The ground floor was most recently an Air Ambulance charity shop, and the first floor is empty former office space.

What’s planned

  • Two shop units on the ground floor, of about 19 and 30.5 square metres, each with its own door and toilet. The society says they’d suit retail, office or studio use.
  • One two-bedroom flat upstairs, reached by its own entrance and stair.
  • No extension: the outside, roofline and shopfront stay as they are, with secondary glazing at the front rather than new windows.

According to the society’s design statement, two smaller flats were considered and dropped after talks with the council’s conservation officer, because one flat means fewer new walls, pipes and fire barriers cutting through the old timber frame.

Second attempt at a flat upstairs

An earlier, quicker application to turn the first floor into homes (25/02774/COUG) was withdrawn after the council’s environmental health team objected over possible noise from the businesses below and next door. This time the society has commissioned a noise survey, carried out over six days in July. It found that traffic on Greenhill Street, not the neighbouring bar, is the main source of noise, and that a flat is suitable with secondary glazing at the front.

Who’s behind it

Stratford Regeneration is a community benefit society (registration number 9662) that raises money through community shares to buy and look after town-centre buildings. Its website says Greenhill Street would be its first property but describes the project as at an early stage, with any purchase still subject to funding and checks. It also says community shares aren’t guaranteed and investors may not get back what they put in.

What’s been said so far

Stratford-upon-Avon Town Council replied on 14 October with “no representation”. Historic England said on 16 October that it doesn’t need to be notified about the planning application. No public comments had been posted when we checked on 16 October.

How to comment, and what happens next

The application first appeared in our Planning this week column. Find other applications near you with our Planning near me map.

Alex Harrington

Alex Harrington grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon and runs What's up, Stratford? as an independent guide to the town.

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