Contractors have just moved in to number 54 New Road, Chippenham, next to the railway viaduct, to fit out Chippenham’s latest new pub and restaurant to open in the town.
HPH Commercial Property of Bath have just completed the letting of the building to the Barracuda Group who will operate the pub and restaurant under the name of Smith & Jones.
The Barracuda Group have obtained a premises licence to trade from the building between the hours of 11am and 12.30am the following morning. The Smith & Jones format is intended to appeal to a wide range of ages from 18 upwards and is particularly well suited to the building which has a number of graceful listed features, including high corniced ceilings and a stately walnut handled staircase leading to the first floor. The building is being fitted out with a number of different areas for seating together with two restaurant serverys, with one being located within the so called “Brunel room” where Brunel is reputed to have dined with Roland Brotherhood, the original owner of the building at the time of the construction of the Great Western Railway.
HPH Commercial Property have carried out an extensive and detailed refurbishment of the property which was taken over in a dilapidated state from Dreams Plc who operated a bed shop in the building. Following a nine-month refurbishment, which saw almost a million pounds invested in the building, HPH were pleased to be awarded a Civic Award by Chippenham Civic Society for the quality of their refurbishment. The success of this project has now been underwritten by two lettings to national high street operators, namely Allied Carpets and the Barracuda Group.
HPH Commercial Property have been involved in a number of projects at the viaduct end of the town centre to improve the public amenity and appearance of this area of town. Their involvement has included participation in the infilling of the pedestrian underpasses under Marshfield Road, the provision of attractive, contemporary lighting adjacent to the railway viaduct and the latest project being their involvement in the flood lighting of Brunel’s railway viaduct at the western arches together with North Wiltshire District Council, the Railway Heritage Trust, Wiltshire County Council and Chippenham Town Council.
Commenting on the letting to Barracuda, Chris Wordsworth, Development Director at HPH, said: "This building has an exciting and interesting history which is very much linked to the founding era of the Great Western Railway. It was home to Roland Brotherhood, who was one of the main engineers and contractors working in conjunction with Brunel to construct the line between London and Bristol. Throughout our involvement with the property we have attempted to preserve as many historic features as were possible and this was assisted by our collaboration with the Heritage Officers at North Wilts District Council who provided valuable input. We are now delighted to see this latest letting to Smith & Jones which completes this project in a successful manner and will enable the public to visit the building and appreciate the interesting features that can be found inside. It has been interesting to watch the improvement of New Road over the last few years as these various changes have taken place and we believe that there is a significant improvement still to come as further retailers look for representation within the town."
The latest project being carried out by HPH sees the refurbishment and extension of Brookfield House, Marshfield Road on behalf of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society who have temporarily vacated part of the building while works are carried out until November of this year. In addition to the refurbishment of their existing accommodation, the project will provide a new entrance reception area with new staff amenities and enhanced office accommodation.
BIG FISH LANDS IN CHIPPENHAM!
