AN unusual residential development opportunity has become available in the centre of Highbridge.

The property, which occupies a prominent corner location at the junction of Church Street and Market Street, consists of two retail units with a self-contained suite of offices above.

It is being sold through the Bristol office of commercial property specialists Bruton Knowles with the benefit of planning permission for the office space to be converted into four flats.

The offices, formerly occupied by the Somerset Drainage Board, have been empty since the organisation relocated to alternative premises further along Market Street.

Planning permission for the conversion was granted in May 2017, and the whole block has now been put up for sale, providing an excellent opportunity for a local builder, developer or investor to take on the project.

As well as the first floor accommodation the sale will include the ground floor retail unit currently occupied by Vault of Gold, providing a rental income for the purchaser.

The other shop, occupied by the well-known Thyers Fishing Tackle business, is being retained by the business which will continue to trade.

The purchaser will also benefit from the potential to add in additional ground floor office space, which is currently unused, together with a basement storage formerly used as a strongroom back in the days when the property was a bank.

Paul Williams from Bruton Knowles said: “Highbridge is a popular location close to Burnham-on-Sea, and this property is well situated in the centre of the town.

"This is an attractive project with the added benefit of an existing rental income from the retail unit.

“We are finding that mixed-use schemes such as this are becoming increasingly popular with investors, offering a diversity of income, and helping meet the need for affordable, well located residential accommodation in our towns and cities, as well as conforming to the government’s stated aim of bringing unused upper floor premises back into beneficial use.

“Such developments are now a familiar site on our high streets as landlords look to underpin value by increasing the income from other parts of the property, and we are expecting strong interest in this opportunity.”