Former Walkabout Bar, 42 Cheap Street, Newbury, RG14 5BX

Description
Situated on Cheap Street, the site comprises a collection of three main buildings: two that front onto Cheap Street and one large warehouse style extension to the rear. No. 42 Cheap Street appears to have originally been two separate properties but today share the same address. The property occupies a mid-terrace position with the front section being two and three floors above street level and of brick construction under a pitched tile roof. The rear section is of a more modern construction and is mainly two floors above street level, is of brick construction under a pitched slate roof. A flat roof section accommodates various plant and machinery including air conditioning and refrigeration condenser units and kitchen extract.

Location
Newbury is an affluent market town in West Berkshire in the valley of the River Kennet which has a population of approximately 156,000 and is located 26 miles south of Oxford, 25 miles north of Winchester and 20 miles west of Reading.
Newbury is the largest town centre in West Berkshire and the main location for a variety of shopping, leisure and employment uses. The town benefits from strong road and rail transport links, being only a few miles from junction 13 of the M4 motorway and the A34. There is a
frequent rail service from Newbury Station to London Paddington, via Reading and easy access to Heathrow International Airport.
Cheap Street is characterised by smaller independent businesses providing a wide range of services which support the core Town Centre
and local residents.

Viewings
The property is closed. Please contact Savills (Southampton) for viewing details.

Terms
Freehold: £950,000 for entire property.
Leasehold: A new lease will be entered in to as follows;
Option (1): £65,000pa for rental of commercial elements only (being ground, fist floor commercial trading area and office space)
Option (2): £85,000pa for rental of entire building

Specifications
The property is currently configured as a former licenced and hospitality venue with residential uppers, as follows:
Ground floor: Entrance foyer leads to spacious open plan commercial area with fixed seating and bar servery. The floor to ceiling heights are 6.35m to 2.56m. Ancillary space includes customer WCs (including accessible), wash-up room and storage. Located to the rear is direct access to the courtyard.
First floor: This section is accessed via a good sized open stairwell to the rear and provides a mezzanine floor looking down to the ground. The space has its own bar servery. Ancillary space includes a good sized trade kitchen space (no F&F), wash-up, large drinks store, cold room, customer WCs and dumb waiters.

Planning
The property is within the authority of West Berkshire Council.
The property is not listed. Under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development)(England) Order 2015 (as amended) the property should be under the category Sui Generis (public house) with ancillary living accommodation.

Potential Development Options
Our client has made a Pre-Application for the change of use of 42 Cheap Street, Newbury, West Berkshire to 2 x class E units and 9 x self-contained
residential flats (ref 24/01544/PREOPB). It is proposed at first floor are 3 x 1 bed units and 2 x 2 bed units with the latter having terraces and light wells. At second floor are proposed 2 x 1 bed units and 1 x 2 bed unit, with the latter having terraces.
Overall, the West Berkshire Council response to the proposal was positive.

Living Accommodation
Various accommodation is located at first and second floors with separate door provided direct from Cheap Street and internally. At first floor is a single room which appears to be have been used for meetings. At first floor is a reception room, bedroom, bathroom, WC, kitchen and dining room.

Rates & Other Matters
The property is entered in the 2023 Rateable Value list with a rating of £124,000. This is not the rates payable. Please visit voa.gov for all rating information. Council Tax Band-C. We understand all mains services are connected.
The property has a premises licence 22/00986/LQNA which permits various activities including the sale of alcohol Monday to Sunday 09.00 - 04.00.