THE council has given the green light to retrospective plans to carry out ‘vital’ work at a shop in Barrow to repair parts of the building damaged in a storm.

Westmorland and Furness Council has granted retrospective planning permission to rebuild part of the outer wall and for the reprofiling of the parapet of Dandy’s on Duke Street.

The furniture store had to close its doors after strong wind and rain from Storm Debi on November 13 caused severe damage to the back of the building. It reopened to normal trading on November 18.

Planning documents state: “During the recent storm grade high winds this parapet was damaged, along with a significant area of the outer leaf brickwork of the cavity wall. This appears to be due to a combination of failure / lack of cavity ties and the excessive height of the exposed parapet.

“The outer leaf has moved outwards, taking with it the window frames and fracturing the masonry cills. The proposal is for repair works to be undertaken comprising careful demolition of the entire outer leaf to this wall and rebuilding from ground level.

“The existing bricks have deteriorated and are in poor condition rendering them unsuitable for reclamation and re-use. It is therefore intended to rebuild using new close matching bricks.

"The proposed works are vital to the integrity of the building structure, following storm damage.”

The plans were approved by Westmorland and Furness Council on March 6.