A NEW café, post office, shop and community centre are set to be built in a small countryside village after planners approved proposals for an overhaul.  

An investment of £500,000 is going to be put into the Ribble Valley village of Dunsop Bridge, the place often referred to as the geographic centre of Great Britain.

As part of the plans, the popular Puddleducks Café is to be moved to within the new community hub, with its current premises being transformed into a three-bedroom flat.

Planners agreed to the proposal in a meeting at the end of May.

Documents submitted to the council by the Wright Design Partnership, on behalf of the applicant, read: “The concept of this application is to regenerate a predominantly disused site in the heart of the village providing for the development of a community hub, to develop a sense of place within the community and an anchor for future growth.

“A new community hub that serves the community first, but which also provides information and a focal point for visitors to the area.

"The synergy of the community hub elements are intended to support local residents, businesses and operations to evolve, grow and stay within the community.”

The proposals include the demolition of two metal storage buildings and the main garage building which is currently located on the site.

With the site cleared and all elements of underground petrol tanks removed, the site would then be re-established with a community “hub” building slightly smaller than the footprint of the existing main garage build.

The main building is proposed as an envelope to accommodate a mix of uses, including a local shop, community information and resource centre, a dedicated Post Office counter and a café, which will potentially be licenced.

Other facilities will include toilets, wi-fi, bike and car electric charging stations and parking.

Plans go on to say the existing buildings on the site are ‘unsightly and beyond repair’ adding: “It is felt that the site is underused as a whole and given its location in the centre of the village of Dunsop Bridge and the geographical centre of England, it is considered there could be so much more offered in this prime location for the local community and visitors to the area.”