A LANDMARK pub in Burnley could be given a new lease of life as shops and flats, according to developers.

The former Duke of York pub, Colne Road, has been empty for some time and was even used illegally as a cannabis factory earlier this year.

But now new owner Dr Sohail Ashraf, from Lightfoot Lane, Preston, believes he can provide a fresh start for the grade II-listed venue.

A planning agent for the developers says in a report to Burnley Council: “The site is vacant and has not attracted any interest to establish its current use, even though it is situated close to public transport and is located in a residential area.”

No major alterations to the outside of the pub have been put forward as part of the scheme, with only internal changes required to the layout.

The agent added: “There will be very little alteration to the existing structure.

"The existing bar and toilets will be stripped out on the ground floor, ready for the perspective businesses to carry out their own shop fitting.”

The flats - one two-bedroom and seven one-bedroom on the first and second floors - would be created by reinstating some of the original hotel walls, the report said.

Efforts to regenerate the former pub have been welcomed by Daneshouse and Stoneyholme councillor Wajid Khan.

He said: “It has been tried as a pub by a number of different people, in recent years, without much success.

“This would seem to be an innovative scheme which would regenerate the area and as long as the community is properly consulted then I would be in favour of it.”

The pub, which dates back to the 1880s, was torched during the Burnley riots in 2001 and later refurbished, at a cost of £500,000, but landlords struggled to keep the pub business going.

Three Vietnamese nationals were jailed at Burnley Crown Court after police raided the bar in August and discovered 1,000 cannabis plants being grown there.