LANCASTER'S famous Waring and Gillow showroom is set to house a new restaurant and pub. The grade-two listed building was bought last week by local businessman, Trevor Bargh, who plans a mixed development of the historic showrooms. Outline plans to be submitted to the council will include a change of use to include a restaurant and pub on the ground floor. A furniture retailer is also expected to move in on the ground floor maintaining the building's historic links with the furniture industry.

The upper floors of the three-storey building, which will be known simply as Gillows, will be converted into residential accommodation.

News that the famous building had been sold was flashed round the world last week, thanks to the Citizen. Following publication of the paper Mr Bargh received an e-mail from friends in Hong Kong, who had read the news on the Citizen's internet website. Former Lancastrians, the Griffiths family, sent their congratulations to Mr Bargh and said that they avidly read the Citizen's news stories on the internet each week.

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