THE demolition of a former supermarket in Oswestry will be put on hold after a decision to gauge interest was taken.

The announcement that an application was submitted for the former Morrisons to be knocked down and redeveloped came in January this year after Shropshire Council declared it would form part of the town's 'Masterplan'.

But last month, the site, in Beatrice Street, appeared on property website Realla.co.uk with the opportunity to lease the building, which has been closed since October 2019, when the company relocated to its Shrewsbury road site.

Shropshire Council confirmed the decision to lease the site was taken after newly-registered interest in the building.

"Although the building was marketed for lease by Morrisons and no tenants were located at that time, there has been a resurgence of interest from potential occupiers, which is very promising for the local economy," said a spokesman.

"We have decided to market the premises for lease over the summer and autumn period to see if there is any serious interest from tenants that could change the outcome for the site."

The two-storey building, which has around 29,000 square feet in space, was built in 1990 and has space fro 120 cars.

Until recently, the car park and space had been used for a Covid-19 testing site.

When announcing the application in January, Councillor Dean Carroll, portfolio holder for physical infrastructure, said: “An application has been made to demolish the former Morrisons site in Oswestry which, if granted, could be beneficial in the long run to any future use.

“No decisions have been made for the future of the site at this stage, but it is felt that it would be beneficial for it to come with this permission already attached.

“The site has now been vacant for more than two years and advertised for retail rent for five years, without a deal being completed.

“The application for demolition has been submitted to enable Shropshire Council to proceed promptly with the outcome of any future options appraisal study for the interim and long-term re-use of the site.

“Future development of the site will be subject to consideration of options to ensure that development will contribute to the vibrancy of the town centre."

Realla has also confirmed the site is no longer up for lease with them.