Plans have been revealed to turn a former Cockermouth restaurant into two homes.
The Quince and Medlar, owned by Louisa and Colin Le Voi, was a popular vegetarian restaurant since it opened in 1989.
The couple put the Castlegate restaurant and the associated accommodation on the market in 2020 for £480,000 as the pair wanted to retire.
At the end of last year, a buyer had come forward and their offer was accepted, but they then later withdrew from the sale.
Architects Red Raven Design said its plans for the Grade II listed property, submitted to Allerdale council for consideration, would see it revert to two independent buildings and the rebuilding of a single-storey extension.
Red Raven Design Limited said: “The proposed works are restricted to the rear side area of the property and to the interior not described in the listing.
“Whilst this does not negate the need to consider the impact on the historic asset, it does highlight that this location, and any works to it, will have a lesser impact than if undertaken on other elevations.”
Red Raven Design said it had chosen a design which had the least impact possible on the historic fabric of the building and allowed architectural improvements to be made where possible.
While there will be no increase in the footprint of the building, Red Raven Design said that permission was sought to rebuild the extension for better internal use, improving the poor build quality of the area.
