A village’s post office is set to get a facelift if plans are approved by Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC).

Plans have been submitted to rebuild the front of Barton Stacey Post Office & Stores with a new “traditional” shopfront, while constructing a new storeroom behind the building to allow the shop to be reconfigured.

The applicants say that the plans will “ensure the viability of the Post Office” for the foreseeable future.

The building has been used for around 200 years as the home of the Barton Stacey Post Office & Stores, and is based on The Street in the heart of the village. A shopfront was added to the building in the 1970s, and is now said to be in “very poor” condition; requiring replacement.

The proposed replacement will be in the style of a “more traditional” Victorian-inspired shopfront, with the front façade to be made of painted timber to produce a historic effect.

Work will also be undertaken to replace an existing storeroom behind the store, which will be significantly extended under the plans. This will allow the interior of the shop to be reconstructed, as well as allow for the addition of a new stair flight for the building’s residents.

The building is listed as a building of local interest inside Barton Stacey’s Conservation Area, though is not itself listed. The architects behind the plans say that the plans will continue to allow the building to “sit comfortably” within the conservation area, with the modern extension screened from the view of the surrounding buildings.

These current proposals follow a rejected application in 2019 to construct an extension for a tea room in the building.

The plans are set to be considered by parish councillors at a meeting of Barton Stacey Parish Council’s Planning Committee on Thursday, February 4, and then will be considered by TVBC planning officers in due course.

To have your say on the application, visit TVBC’s planning site and search with the application number 21/00203/FULLN.