Bury St Edmunds Post Office multi-million pound redevelopment completed with 'significant interest' in commercial units

A multi-million pound redevelopment of the former Post Office site in Bury St Edmunds town centre has been officially completed.

The new building at 17-18 Cornhill, with 12 apartments and two ground floor commercial units, has been formally handed over to West Suffolk Council.

It allows the authority to progress the sale of 11 of the apartments which have been reserved and there has also been 'significant interest' in the two units.

The development maintains the Victorian front of the former Post Office and widens Market Thoroughfare by more than 50 per cent.

Cllr Susan Glossop, cabinet member for growth at West Suffolk Council, said it was the culmination of a tremendous amount of work to deliver an aspect outlined in Bury's town centre masterplan, shaped by 8,000 comments that called for improvements to Market Thoroughfare and St Andrew's Street South.

"We have saved an important part of the town's heritage in the Victorian Cornhill frontage which may have otherwise been at risk, we have widened Market Thoroughfare to help footfall between the arc and the Cornhill, and we have turned an unattractive yard at the back of the building into a new commercial front which can encourage further investment to improve this street," she said.

The council bought the site for £1.6 million after the Post Office decided in 2017 to move to WH Smith. Councillors backed a £6.72 million investment into the site in April 2018 and construction began in September 2020.

Cllr John Griffiths, leader of West Suffolk Council, said: "It improves and enhances the town and protects the beautiful Victorian architecture on Cornhill, while maximising footfall, and can only further benefit our residents, businesses and visitors."

Cllr Sarah Broughton, cabinet member for resources and property, added: "It means we are able to progress the sale of 11 of the 12 apartments, and the fact that we have had such strong interest even with some of the delays to the scheme, shows how much market interest there is in Bury St Edmunds town centre."

The project continues to be modelled as cost neutral.

New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership was awarded £32.1m through the Government’s Getting Building Fund, including £2.75m for the Cornhill project.