Government money to refurbish former Rugby bank premises

More than £220,000 of government money is to be spent to refurbish a bank that has been empty for eight years.

The former TSB branch in Sheep Street, Rugby, closed in 2018. It will be transformed into a retail or office outlet, after the borough council secured £221,625.

While no business has yet committed to taking the building on, the available lease would prevent it becoming a "gambling shop, a takeaway, a charity shop, a tobacco or vape shop, a mini mart, or a hairdresser or barber," the council said.

Leader Louise Robinson, said "Bringing it back into use will improve the look and feel of this part of Sheep Street and Drury Lane, while helping attract a new business to the building."

The money will be used to refurbish the interior and exterior before the lease is sold at auction at a later date.

Some of the money will also go on marketing the building, while the renovation work is underway, to try and attract interest at a future auction.

The funding comes from the High Street Rental Auction (HSRA) programme, created in 2023 to allow and help local authorities to bring empty retail units back into use.

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