PLANS for a £1 million transformation of The Mail’s former office have been put forward.

Proposals to turn the offices in Barrow’s Abbey Road into apartments and business units have been submitted to the council for approval.

Under the plans there would 11 new one and two bedroom apartments and three business units in a major transformation of the building.

Developer David Clark, of the Abbey Road Regeneration Group, previously said he was planning the £1 million development to provide housing at ‘the very top end of the market’.

Plans submitted to Barrow Council say the historic facade of Newspaper House, will see minimal alterations so the design is ‘sensitive to local character and history’.

The proposals say a new entrance will be created at the side of the building with a protruding steel canopy.

The apartments will also feature balconies, while a terrace will feature on the roof.

A lift would be installed inside, while office space and studio workshops would be situated on the ground floor.

The design and material that will be used ‘have been chosen to create an attractive and welcoming place to live’, the applicants say.

They say the development is ‘an opportunity to contribute towards improvement of the immediate area’.

Newsquest Cumbria said the building was no longer suitable for the newspaper’s needs with reporters to be based in the community.

The plans are currently out for consultation, with neighbours invited to have their say on the proposals.

A veteran of large construction project, the Lindal resident Mr Clark has now returned to Furness to take on the project.

His company is also behind Abbey Apartments down the road.

Mr Clark also has experience working on construction projects that include a £250 million university in Libya and a £100m London apartment block

The developer said he planned to keep the name Newspaper House, saying the building had ‘played a significant role in the lives of people in Barrow’.