AN EMPTY bank could be transformed with studio workspaces for art, yoga, "hot desking" and start-up businesses under plans lodged with South Lakeland District Council.

The former Grange-over-Sands branch of NatWest has stood empty on Main Street since it closed in October 2018, to the disappointment of townsfolk.

Now, applicant Barbara Berry is seeking consent to bring "new life" to the plot while supporting "the local community, businesses and artists".

The four-storey limestone and sandstone building in the coastal resort's Conservation Area already was put up for sale by auction in July 2018 with a guide price of £125,000.

According to planning documents, Ms Berry has bought the site from Mr S Clapp, who had already secured consent for a restaurant/cafe on the ground and lower-ground floors, with residential use on the first and second storeys.

Ms Berry is planning to use the two lower floors as "multi-use commercial community space". She is proposing three flexible studio workspaces for yoga, dance and art classes; shared working spaces for start-up businesses; "hot desking"/serviced offices; meeting rooms and gallery space.

A four-bedroom flat would be created upstairs, and an "incongruous" 20th century extension would be replaced with a new one, creating a dining kitchen with views east over Morecambe Bay. This would be clad in pale driftwood-effect timber "to reflect the seaside location of the property".