THE former ‘Koko’s’ complex is the latest Burnley venue to be suggested as a candidate to house the town’s booming student population.

Plans have been lodged with Burnley Council to transform the former party premises in Elizabeth Street into a 14 apartment complex, which overlooks the River Calder.

Once used as a furniture warehouse, the former Elizabeth Street Mill was remodelled, over five floors, and reopened in early 2009 with a 24-hour licence.

But the former night-spot was eventually wound down and just recently the building, then owned by Beverley Musso, has been on the market with a guide price of £275,000, but has failed to sell.

Wayne Canavan, of Manchester-based Next Technology Solutions, is behind the apartments bid, which would see all the existing internal partitions and fittings, except for an internal staircase and passenger lift.

Planning agent Lee McGregor said: “The brief was to change the use of the building from residential, housing to as many two-bedroom apartments as would comfortably fit without significantly altering its external appearance.

"In response to a growing need for student accommodation, backed up by a recent statement from UCFB bosses where they say that ‘accommodation space is needed due to rising numbers of applications’, and a statement by local college chiefs stating that ‘they have brought millions of pounds of local investment into the town’, the apartments are to be suitably designed for use by students.”

Proposals to convert the former Shop Direct office, in Kingsway, into student apartments, have already been drawn up, and the former Circulation Club and Plane Tree Hotel buildings have also been suggested as sites.