The blight that was M&Co’s empty building is now set to breathe new life into Godalming High Street.
The former M&Co store at 68 High Street has been a bit of a saga for ‘Your Waverley.’
Last year, the council took a giant step in purchasing the former high street site to boost its finances and help the high street. However, the Tory Group strongly opposed the move, claiming it had paid over the odds.
69 HIGH STREET, GODALMING.
Claims that it has paid too much for the site, which has extant planning consent for commercial use and eight residential units, may or may not be valid. Only time will tell. The proof is in the pudding, as they say, perhaps eaten in the new Relaxed dining and drinking experience called Loungers coming to Godalming’s heart!
Loungers PLC, owners of the Lounges restaurant Chain, has signed a Lease Agreement with Waverley Borough Council to occupy the premises at 69 High Street, Godalming.
Tories sniping on the sidelines described the venture as “a basket case.” They claimed the council has paid over the odds for the site,
“and it is unlikely to get a commercial tenant.”
CouncilLeader Paul Follows said`:
This will be a fantastic addition to our high-streetI am please to share this now officially confirmed and signed!
Mark Ashworth’s on Facebook:
Fantastic! Glad to see the building coming back to life, and well done, Waverley BC, for being creative, working with private enterprise.
This is a great addition to the high street, as a new high street business owner I look forward to the additional foot fall it will bring into the High street from customers from outside towns who may not have otherwise visited Godalming. That, in turn, will generate publicity for the other businesses on the high street, increasing Godalming’s reputation as a place to visit and shop. This additional foot fall will then encourage other businesses to start up on the high street as a busy high street is what buisiness need to succeed – that’s when we will get more shops, and a wider variety of other businesses.
The Executive argued that making small but serious acquisitions like this and actively supporting the high streets while Government cash reduces year after year is the only way the council can increase its revenue to support local services.
. Read more on Waverley Website https://orlo.uk/SrYeM
Give us your views on the development and initial designs on our consultation hub 
https://orlo.uk/Rc1hM
https://orlo.uk/Rc1hM
They totally paid over the odds for this white elephant and it’s been vacant possession for 2.5 years. This Follows folly will never turn a profit for local taxpayers and we are yet to see the ‘business plan’. There is more spin on this than a Catherine wheel on bonfire night.
Perhaps time will tell – however, friends of the WW cannot wait to visit Godalming once again instead of travelling to Horsham the mecca of restaurants.
You mean because there are so few eateries in Godalming? Barely a coffee shop or restaurant to be found.
I am glad this plan has come to fruition, unlike the Tory plan to do nothing and let Godalming high street decay and die by opposing any forward looking attempt to improve its chances.
The only way to know if this is going to put a decent revenue into WBC is when we know the full cost of the building including ALL fees, how much was spent on improvements, how long the lease is and what the commercial rent being paid is. How long before WBC actually see a real return on monies spent, one assumes it will be at least 10years, possibly more, the plus is they will actually own the freehold permanently so will look good on the balance sheet.
Good luck getting any figures from PDF. We’ve yet to see the ‘business plan’, assuming it actually exists that is.
Does anybody know if anything is actually happening?