The Carpet Factory on London Road 'looks awful' says councillors

The Carpet Factory building, at the corner of Fort Royal Hill and overlooking London Road, has been empty since 2016.

Cllr Lynn Denham and Cllr Jabba Riaz, Worcester city councillors for Cathedral ward, are concerned over the state of the building and believe it may pose a health and safety risk.

Cllr Denham said: “It looks absolutely awful, and it is right next to one of our Green Flag parks and within view of the Cathedral.

“We have been in touch with planning enforcement officers at the city council and they now have a meeting with the owner of the building soon.

“We are hoping they will be able to get them to improve it and bring the standard up because it has been totally neglected for years now."

Rubbish at the back of the building. (Image: Newsquest)

Cllr Jabba Riaz echoed the comments saying residents are "concerned" over the state of the building.

He said: "Residents are concerned about the state of the building and whether it poses a health and safety risk.

"We have real concerns regarding the ownership, and we are raising these concerns.”

READ MORE: Why is prominent building being left to rot?

Developer Peter Styles was previously given planning permission to turn the building into flats.

Despite years of delays, Mr Styles has confirmed plans are "moving forward" on the project.

He said: "Things are definitely moving forward.

"It is easy to stand on the sidelines and complain but there are always lots of intricacies involved in the planning process and, of course, covid delayed things massively as well.

"I have a pre-arranged meeting with the head of planning on Thursday (March 9) and I still have planning consent from several years ago, with a plan to still turn it into flats and housing.

"If we can reconfigure, and renovate the building rather than knocking it down, this would be my preferred plan.

"After the pandemic, there were other projects that became more of a priority, but my intention is to sort the building out as soon as possible."

READ MORE: Worcester's WHSmith criticised for lack of 'dementia-friendly signage'

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A spokesperson for Worcester City Council said they are aware of the concerns surrounding the building.

They said: “Based on our information we don’t believe this building is currently occupied, but we are aware of the concerns surrounding its appearance and condition and our planning officers have arranged a meeting with the building’s owner to discuss its future."

In previous years, the building has been two different Indian restaurants and also The Little Sauce Factory pub.