Shrewsbury Flaxmill project could force takeaway closure

Chilli Spice takeaway may have to make way to enable part of a heritage project

Takeaways in front of a historic mill may be forced to leave their premises to make way for a heritage project.

Shropshire Council has agreed to make a compulsory purchase order (CPO) on Chilli Spice and Spring Garden to enable the restoration of the Flaxmill Maltings site near Shrewsbury.

Under the plan, the buildings would be returned to their original residential use alongside 120 new homes.

The council said the CPO was not something it took lightly.

Historic England, which owns the Flaxmill site, has so far been unable to reach an agreement with the takeaway buildings' current owners to purchase the premises.

The proposed new homes are part of the latter stages of the multi-million pound regeneration of Flaxmill, built in 1797.

The mill, which produced linen thread from flax, was converted into a maltings for the brewing industry in 1897, but has been empty since that closed in 1987.

In 2020, the site was awarded £650,000 from the government's Culture Recovery Fund, with its full restoration set to cost £28.4m, mainly funded via a £20.7m grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The main mill and kiln buildings are currently being restored and are set to be finished this year.

The Flaxmill Maltings was built in 1797

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, at a meeting of the authority's cabinet on Wednesday, councillor Ed Potter said negotiations would continue with the owners of the takeaway buildings and the council would support them "wherever we possibly can".

Gazi Chowdhury, who runs Chilli Spice, said due to his landlord not coming to an agreed price over any sale, he had been unable to pursue refurbishments for his business.

"I want to do refurbishments to the property which the landlord said I can, but I don't want to do them and then have to move as it'll be a waste of money," he said.

A report to cabinet by the council's director of place, Mark Barrow, said negotiations with the owner of one Haughmond Square, which houses Spring Garden takeaway and a residential flat, were at an "advanced stage" and options for re-housing the tenant were being explored.

However, he said "very little if no progress" had been made regarding 15 Haughmond Square, home to Chilli Spice and a flat above, as the owner was "unwilling to engage" with the council or Historic England.

The cabinet unanimously agreed to make the CPO, subject to approval from the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.