Winckley Street has a number of cafes and restaurants on its cobbled street

An estate agents in the city centre could be turned into a new ice cream parlour and independent coffee shop.

Hazelwells on Winckley Street are moving to new offices and are applying for change of use to bring a new boutique cafe to the Winckley Square area.

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Documents submitted to the city council show Hazelwells have been marketing the offices for three years and been unable to secure a tenant until now.

Hazewells state: “The focus of the proposed venture would be to offer locally sourced artisan coffees, ice creams, quality cakes, light snacks and other hot & cold drinks throughout the daytime and early evening and would not be to concentrate on serving cooked meals.

“The proposal would boost the local economy by initially generating two full time jobs and four part-time jobs.”

A full refurbishment of the inside of the building is proposed, but plans state it will be “sympathetic to the history of the building.”

Barista training is to be provided by J Atkinson & co who have been serving coffee in Lancaster since 1837.

Atkinson’s coffee house in Lancaster

The proposal is likely to be looked on favourably by the city council who are in the process of consulting on their plans for Winckley Square.

A £1 million heritage lottery bid is being prepared to restore the Georgian Square to its former glory, and bring empty buildings back into use.

The full plans are available to view on the council website.

Anyone wishing to comment on the plans can do so via the council website or email devcon@preston.gov.uk quoting reference 06/2014/0191 by Wednesday 23 April.

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Image credit to David Bleasdale