Plans have been revealed for a high profile mothballed former Kirklees Council building.
The former court buildings near Huddersfield Town Hall were deemed surplus to requirements by council officials and closed in 2015.
The Grade II listed building on Princess Street was once home to the West Riding Magistrates, with two court rooms covering court cases for the Colne Valley, Holme Valley and Denby Dale areas up until the early 1970s.
It then became the base for political parties and councillors on Kirklees Council, who were moved to space in the Civic Centre buildings amid hundreds of redundancies to the council’s workforce.
With almost £200m of government cuts to absorb, the council launched a huge asset sale programme and put the prominent building, close to Wilko, up for sale.
It was sold at auction last November with a guide price of £350,000.
Six months on and property developers who acquired the premises have quickly taken their first step at reviving the building.
They have submitted an application to convert the historic premises into 15 one bed apartments and a shop.
Documents show little will change to the exterior of the listed building other than a handful of new windows, thought to date from the early 1800s.
But inside, former court chambers will be transformed into new living spaces.
Plans show the developers believe they can fit three apartments and retail space on the ground floor, eight flats on the first floor and a further four on the second floor.
The developers say the main surviving internal features of historic interest, such as the building’s staircase and the ceiling to the former council chamber, can be retained.
A small communal outdoor space will be created to the rear of the building.
The retail unit would front onto Princess Street.
There has been no hint as to what kind of store it could be.
It appears that no parking spaces are being created on the premises.
Applicant, a Mr Chan Khangura, says it is in the council’s interest to approve the application before the 200-year-old building falls into disrepair.
Public consultation on the proposal runs until June 18.
