Historic building to become day spa and café

A 322-year-old listed building in Warminster is set to become a luxury day spa and café after ambitious conversion plans were approved.

The Grade II-listed Dewey House in North Row is currently vacant and is set to undergo a full conversion.

The spa would include a hydro spa pool, steam room, infrared and Finnish saunas, cold plunge pools, treatment room and relaxation area, while the ground floor would contain a café, studio and changing rooms.

Wiltshire Council granted listed building consent on 10th November, subject to conditions.

The scheme also involves internal alterations, a new two-storey side extension, repairs to the historic building, a revamped forecourt and solar panels on the roof.

Dewey House has a history stretching back more than three centuries.

The building was originally constructed in 1704 as the “Old Meeting”, believed to have been a meeting house, before being converted into a girls’ school in 1872.

Its central porch dates from around that conversion, while the building’s historic features include red brickwork, stone mullioned windows, an old tiled roof and spearhead railings.

It was Grade II listed in 1978 and later spent years in civic use under Warminster Town Council, before the council moved to the Civic Centre in 2012.

The food bank became its most recent occupant before moving to new premises last year, leaving Dewey House vacant.

Council planners said a new viable use was “much needed” and concluded that the permanent change would help secure the building’s future.

The plans were not without concerns. Residents raised issues including traffic and parking in narrow North Row, noise and smells from the café and the impact on the listed building.

However, Warminster Town Council, highways officers and the council’s conservation team ultimately raised no objections to the revised scheme.

Planning officers said the development could also bring more people into the town centre while giving the centuries-old building a viable long-term future.

Pictured: The applicant’s impression of the spa

Pictured: Dewey House (Google Maps)