A NIGHTCLUB and gin bar could be opening in a bid to breathe new life into a town centre.

Businessman Bradley Green has put forward plans to open the nightclub in Accrington which would be called ‘Dodge’.

It would be based at the controversial former I Candy lap dancing bar which opened in 2012 but closed a short time later.

Residents had feared the lap dancing club would give Accrington the wrong image.

Since then the three-storey building, which is located at the junction of Dutton Street and Blackburn Road, has been unoccupied.

Under the bid, the lap dancing club on the first floor would be turned into a nightclub and the empty second floor would be converted into a gin bar.

The ground floor of the building, where the former restaurant Café Amsterdam was based, will remain empty.

Mr Green, 23, who is the director of Burnley-based Bci Transport Ltd, said he wanted to bring night life back to Accrington.

He said: “There isn’t much in Accrington in terms of nightlife.

“I want to offer something different and will create our own new drinks and have various offers.

“The aim is for this nightclub to add to the nighttime economy and add something to it that currently isn’t there and bring night life back to Accrington.”

The nightclub and gin bar plans could see up to 16 jobs created including bar staff and security.

While it is proposed the nightclub would open between 11pm and 4am on Friday and Saturday and potentially 10pm until 2am on Thursday.

Mr Green added: “I’m aiming the gin bar to bring in an older audience than the nightclub which will be called Dodge.

“The building has been empty for quite a while and it would be good to see something done with it.

“This will be a new business venture for me and I think this will be a positive development for the town.”

Mr Green said it is hoped, that, subject to planning permission, work on the new nightclub and gin bar would start in the New Year with the venue opening its doors potentially in March 2019.