A local property developer is hoping to ‘revitalise’ the front of a former bank on Marlow High Street and install new shop signs – but has kept the identity of a new retail or restaurant arrival close to its chest.

Sorbon Estates, a property investor and developer based in Beaconsfield, submitted plans for a redesign of the old Natwest bank at number seven on the high street on August 14.

The work – which has yet to be approved by Buckinghamshire Council – would include installing a new window in the place of an old outdoor ATM and erecting a newly painted timber sign, ready for a new and currently undisclosed business.

A spokesperson for Sorbon implied the tenancy is still up for grabs in a document on the panning portal, describing the project as a “revitalisation of (the building’s) ground-floor frontage to improve its relationship with the surrounding context (and) improving its functionality for future tenants”.

However, they also suggested that the new exterior would “remain subtle (in its colour) and respect the existing street scene”.

The changes are decidedly minimal, with the plans designed to “retain the original fabric” of the unlisted building while making “small-scale yet largely beneficial improvements”.

(Image: Buckinghamshire Council)

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It comes after the Free Press reported earlier this summer that Australian leatherwear company R. M. Williams would be filling the former HSBC unit at number 46 on the high street.

The arrival – confirmed by approved planning documents for new signs bearing the brand’s logo – followed a “vibrant” redesign of the property by Sorbon aimed at “increasing footfall on the high street by making it more attractive to the public” – not dissimilar to the work proposed for number seven.

The old Natwest bank is still listed for leasehold on Sorbon’s website, indicating that it is still on the market for a business owner looking to put roots down in Marlow.

The listing extols the site’s “unparalleled visibility and foot traffic” and promises a “tastefully modified enhanced frontage”, with proposed window expansion “flooding the interior with natural light and creating an inviting atmosphere for customers”.

It is also listed for class E use, meaning it could turn into a number of things, whether, as the agent suggests, “a boutique retail shop, an upmarket restaurant or a trendy fitness studio”. It is currently priced at £130,000 per annum. For more information, visit https://www.sorbonestates.com/property/7-high-street-marlow/.