IT COULD be third time lucky for developers looking to create homes in Ludlow town centre.

An original scheme for housing on the site of the former Shropshire Council offices on the Stone House site was modified and now it seems that this has been dropped.

The third go at a scheme is very different and envisages sheltered housing for elderly people.

For the new project, Purcell Developments has teamed up with Churchill Retirement, a company.

The plans are to demolish the 1989 office block at Stone House and replace it an L-shaped block of 40 retirement apartments on what looks like a slightly bigger footprint.

Under the new proposals the roof line will be stepped down towards the Grade II* listed Stone House on Corve Street.

The stable block and workshops at the entrance to the current car park will be demolished and replaced with four affordable housing units. These will be the same height as the current stable block.

The new scheme allows for a greater area of open space and more car parking and has been given a welcome by Andy Boddington, who represents Ludlow on Shropshire Council.

He has been very critical of the two previous schemes having described the second attempt as less ‘naff’ than the first.

“The plans were well received by the town council and conservation committee,” said Andy Boddington.

“There was a feeling that some of the façade details were too fussy. Questions were also asked about access for fire vehicles and whether the car parking is adequate.

“But overall, councillors and committee members were supportive of the new proposals.”