Exciting plans to breathe new life into a town centre eyesore have taken a big step forward.

An application to transform the old Whittle's furniture store on Duke Street into a community digital cafe and workspace hub, has now been lodged with Copeland Council.

The ambitious scheme, put forward by Energy Coast West Cumbria (properties) Ltd, would see the derelict building in Whitehaven, “brought back to life”.

It was bought by BEC earlier this year, following the closure of the furniture store in September 2018.

The company wants to create “modern and flexible areas for the public and fledgling businesses to use equipment to create and develop designs and products”, according to the plans.

It would be along the lines of a “maker space” - a place where people can come together to create or invent things, using technology.

The ground floor would include a café, seating area, service desks and exhibition space, and would be linked to the upper floors, which would be used as flexible office and meeting areas, with two virtual reality test rooms and a digital lab.

The scheme would also retain the building’s historic features, which include a gated lift from the early 1900s and the surviving mid-Victorian staircase between the first and second floors.

Part of the current building would be demolished, with the removal of the former furniture store’s internal partitions to the ground and first floor areas and removing back of house office and toilets partitions.

The outside of the building would be given a facelift with a “complementary, fresh and exciting architectural style” and new modern signage installed.

A spokesman for BEC said: “We’re taking another step forward with our plans to redevelop the former Whittle’s building as a hub to support the aspirations of our young people, creating new opportunities for employment and skills development in Cumbria.

"We’re providing an enabling platform for younger people to develop future skills in a fun, vibrant and supportive environment.  

“We want to bring new sectors to Cumbria, giving people the opportunity to explore different career paths.  

“The concept links to our recent redevelopment of the Bus Station. We envision young people perfecting their thoughts and skills here and then getting support from Eagle Labs Cumbria to further develop and sell their ideas, creating a new generation of digital entrepreneurs.”

The application says: “The proposed development will positively bring back into use the currently vacant building.

“The existing structure is in poor condition and in desperate need of exterior and interior repair works, bringing back to life this grade two listed building, to create a digital community hub and cafe.”

A survey carried out in December 2019 revealed the three-storey building was “in very poor condition” with backlog maintenance of almost £1m, the plans go on to say.

A heritage statement submitted with the application says the site of the property was developed during the Georgian period and the buildings on it were altered significantly from the late 19th century onwards.

The property, which was known as Davis’s Chusan Tea Warehouse in the late 19th century, has strong historical links with the development of the harbour through the late 18th and earlier 19th century periods.