A FORMER flour mill in Ludlow has been singled out by a Government agency as an example of how historic buildings can be put to new uses.

The 112-year-old Marston's Mill, across the road from Ludlow Station, now provides low cost rented accommodation for up to 15 young people, aged 16 to 25, as part of the Foyer Project, supported by South Shropshire Housing Association.

The building also includes a training centre for the residents and the community while additional space is rented out to other agencies.

In a new report, The State of the West Midlands' Historic Environment, English Heritage said the Mill was "a good example of how the modern conversion and sustainable reuse of an historic building can be achieved without the loss of its characteristics".

Locally quarried clay was used to produce new brickwork, which English Heritage said was "indistinguishable from the old".

In the planning stages, four types of window were rejected before the most suitable was found for the building.