THE owner of a pub and hotel in Barrow has revealed plans to build a second hotel in disused land.

William Oxley has submitted a planning application to construct an eight-bedroom, two storey hotel alongside his Harbour Hotel in The Strand, close to Morrisons.

Because the Harbour is a listed building, planners at Barrow Borough Council will be looking for the plans to reflect the appearance and nature of the existing building while not imposing too much on its significance.

The application states that with competitively low-priced alcohol being sold in supermarkets, pub landlords are having to diversify their offering to avoid falling victim.

Many, as has already been seen across Barrow with the Washington and Wheatsheaf for example, have converted their premises into hotels in a bid to take advantage of the temporary and permanent contractors working in the town.

The new hotel, to be built at the back of the Harbour's car park, would also create two new, part-time jobs.

Historic England will also be consulted on the plans.

The Harbour was listed as a Grade II building in 1976. Its listing describes the pub as being built in 1850 as Barrow underwent a massive expansion buoyed by the formation of the Furness Railway and the ironworks.

A decision on the planning application is set to be made by October 3.