A LONG-AWAITED bid to turn a listed building next to Folly Bridge into a cafe looks set to be approved next week.

The Old Toll House on Abingdon Road has been empty for more than a year but developers want to turn it into the ‘unique’ eatery.

A similar plan was rejected last year but another will go to councillors to decide on Tuesday.

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City council officers say the application should get the go-ahead and that it would be a ‘public benefit’ to reopen the Grade II-listed building.

The toll house was built in 1827 to serve people crossing Folly Bridge, which had replaced a medieval bridge a year before.

But tolls were only collected until 1850, by which time the cost of the bridge had been paid off.

In a report, officers noted: “The re-use of the Old Toll House building will provide the public with a greater opportunity to enjoy views of the bridge and the surroundings which would be welcomed.”

A similar application was refused in 2018 on the grounds of the ‘harm to nearby neighbouring occupiers, a lack of detail in the application, the potential for noise and odour to cause nuisance, a lack of detail with regard to service and delivery as well as harm to designated heritage assets.’

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The council was also unhappy about a glass screen measuring about 1.2m that would have gone on the upper terrace of the building.

That has since been ditched from the latest plan after conservation officers said it would ‘not be acceptable’.

But the council is now happier for the bid to proceed.

It says the significance of the building ‘stems from its historic function, its interesting neo-classical design which gives hints of an Italianate style and its appearance in connection with Folly Bridge and the Thames.’

It said it is hopeful the new use of it would be ‘sympathetic’ and of a ‘high quality’.

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“The level of harm caused would be of a very low order of less than substantial harm,” the authority said.

The application will be heard at the city council next week because five city councillors have asked for it to be discussed by the West Area planning committee.

Labour councillors Marie Tidball, Pat Kennedy, Susanna Pressel, Chewe Munkonge and Mark Lygo called in the application because of the impact the new cafe might have on neighbours.