PLANS to reinstate what was thought to be a doorway to a now disused bank have been put forward.
Planners have already given the go-ahead for the conversion of the grade II listed former Lloyds Bank to six flats with the ground floor retained as office space.
Applicants S & J Real Estate Holdings Limited, who bought the 150-year-old building in Pontypool’s conservation area 2024, have now applied for retrospective planning permission to cover the removal of an ATM cash machine and reinstate what was thought to be a doorway.
The application states Torfaen Borough Council had informed the owners in January this year removal of the cashpoint required listed building consent and it could take enforcement action to ensure its remediation.
A heritage impact statement, submitted as part of the application, stated it was likely the cash machine was removed when the bank closed in 2019 before the firm purchased the Hanbury Road building which hasn’t been used since.
It added the “current the owners are aware of their liability for remediation of the unauthorised works”.
According to the statement evidence points to the space that was occupied by the cash machine having been a doorway as there are entrance steps leading to it similar to the steps to the existing doorway on the right hand side of the building.
It is also planned to strip out modern banking cashiers desks and barriers to open up the ground floor banking hall.
According to the application the reinstatement of the doorway will preserve the original character of the building and could also offer greater flexibility for its use and potentially secure a tenant for the commercial space.
The application is being considered by the council’s planning department.
