Gloucester construction firm Elijahwillow Ltd has just finished renovating 80 Westgate Street, the former Sugar Celebrations shop, in Gloucester.

Previously a shop with offices above it, the Grade II listed building is now a small retail space, with six high-end boutique style rooms and a large communal space for city centre living.

Dan Ponting, owner of Elijahwillow, showed Punchline-Gloucester.com editor, Mark Owen, around the four-storey building.

The firm's client bought the building in July 2022 and the build took just over a year to complete.

Dan said: "The planning process was quite long, and we had to jump through some hoops."

But it was worth the wait.

Elijahwillow created a new corridor and staircase alongside the updated retail space. The corridor leads to a huge communal kitchen and a small, shared courtyard garden area, paved with bricks reclaimed from previous building jobs.

Upstairs, there are three floors of bedrooms, each with an ensuite bathroom and kitchenette, and all fitted out to the highest standard. The firm made the furniture in-house, much of it from reclaimed and upcycled materials.

Solar panels and a wildflower garden roof have brought the building right up to date, but the transformation has also been carried out sympathetically to restore the history of the building.

Dan continued: "There were two rooms on the top floor, with four windows across the back. We made and fitted a sash window. That's what it would have been like years ago, so we've reinstated it. We've taken modern materials off the building and restored it to how it really should be."

There is a lot of demand for high quality city centre accommodation and the firm is already gearing up to work on a similar project with another client at 51 Westgate Street.

Dan said: "Fingers crossed that goes to plan and we start bringing more people back to the city, with more places to live, which is what we need.

"We're on a mission at the moment, to try and get all the vacant properties on the four Gate streets in the city centre back into use. We need accommodation and we need affordable retail.

"A lot of development is going on around the city, with the Forum and the Docks, and that's brilliant. But we want to be the missing link, focusing on restoring these rundown properties."

Punchline-Gloucester.com said: "This is a prime example of what can be done to empty retail spaces in towns and city centres, not just in Gloucester but across the county, with a bit of thought and ingenuity, and when the planners make good decisions and have an open mind. As high street retail shrinks, we can have more people living on these streets, like they used to in the 18th and 19th centuries."

For more information, telephone (01452) 699880 or email info@Elijahwillow.com.