AN old office block with planning permission to be turned into new homes and shops is going under the hammer.

Originally built in the late 1970s to house Kidderminster’s new Conservative Club, it was named to honour the country’s first woman Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who served from 1979 to 1990.

But the three-storey building has now been empty for several years. Wyre Forest Council granted permission to convert the building into apartments and retail space in 2020.

Margaret Thatcher House, at 35 Mill Street, is listed for sale with a guide price of £432,000+ at Bond Wolfe’s auction, which will be livestreamed on Thursday, September 14.

Ron Darlington , consultant director at Bond Wolfe, said: “This is a landmark building with car parking for 32 vehicles and stands close to Kidderminster’s town centre and the Crossley Retail Park.

“Planning consent was granted for four shop units on the ground floor with nine apartments on the first and second floors with a side extension.

“The building already stands in a popular residential area, just five minutes’ walk from the town centre with a variety of shops, pubs and local businesses.

“We expect this to make Margaret Thatcher House a very attractive proposition for a wide range of investors and developers. As a result, we predict some fierce bidding when the property comes up for auction on 14 September.

“This is the kind of property that regularly sees our live-streamed auctions attract literally thousands of people from across the UK – and abroad - keen to watch or take part in the proceedings.”

Margaret Thatcher House was first put on the market by Wyre Forest Conservative Association in 2018 after their long-term office tenant, civil engineering firm George Law, announced it was moving out after around 40 years.