PLANS to completely transform a former snuff works in Kendal have been submitted.

The 18th century Old Snuff Works at 25-27 Lowther Street have lain dormant since Gawith Hoggarth & Co Ltd moved its manufacturing to Mintsfeet Estate in 2009.

The company has now revealed plans to create two residential flats on the first floor of 25-27 Lowther Street.

It would retain current offices and create a small museum for Gawith Hoggarth & Co on the ground floor of number 27.

And the remaining ground floor would be converted for commercial leisure use as a bistro/restaurant and venue for events, according to a planning application to South Lakeland District Council.

The first phase of the building’s reinvention started in 2020 with structural repairs and interventions to return it to a ‘sound condition’- a separate application granted in 2019.

The building had been the base of the snuff business since the late 1700’s until its move to Shap Road and works aim to retain many of the Grade II listed building’s original features.

According to planning documents much of the manufacturing equipment and machinery has remained at the building and the company is planning on displaying these for ‘possible displays or a museum collection’.

The Gawith family, who own the building and business, ‘aim to achieve a positive and sustainable solution for the building for it to continue its role in the life and history of Kendal.’

In a heritage assessment of the building, Greenlane Archaeology said: “The site represents an important aspect of Kendal’s history and part of a relatively understudied industry at a national level, with previous consideration largely concerned with the mills in which the snuff was produced, rather than the places where the raw tobacco and snuff were finished, packaged and distributed.”

Commenting on the plans the assessment read: “In general, the proposed alteration works will be designed to have a negligible impact on the heritage significance of the building and its setting. The existing structure and building elements are all to be retained.

“All necessary steps will be taken to safeguard the significance of the heritage asset. The intention is that many original features will be retained and repaired as part of this phase two application thereby retaining the integrity of the historic asset.”