Two Step is to begin work on turning the old Smalltown Labour Exchange into a mini-supermarket, situated between the two existing mini-supermarkets located at Smalltown Post Office and Blondies (formerly Cheap Booze).
The building, situated in the heart of the Smalltown Conservation Area, will be turned into a Two Step plus 94 1-bedroom flats and 94 2-bedroom flats.
“We are mindful of the need to ensure that any changes made to the building are sympathetically unobtrusive and blend in with the surrounding area. Therefore we plan to cover the existing windows with giant, brightly coloured graphics showing a variety of fruit, vegetables and bottles of beer. These massive shiny posters will completely obscure views into the shop, will cause no conflict with public safety and will most definitely not have a detrimental effect on the visual amenity of the area. Apart from making the whole area look like an eye-sore.
We also plan to install a non-obtrusive large neon flashing sign, which will allow our customers to know if the shop is open or not – since they won’t be able to tell by peering in through the obscured windows. The sign will be lit up and flashing for 20 hours a day, every day. We are confident that this strobe-effect lightning will not have a negative effect on residents living nearby.
Sadgebore District Council are inviting feedback on the proposal from residents, but, as usual, will ignore all comments received.