A FAMILY pub group is in talks with the owners of Safeway House, next to Burnley bus station.

The firm wants to open a family pub in a 6,500 sq ft area of the ground floor of the five-storey property.

The scheme is part of proposals to redevelop the building, as a pub, shops and offices.

It follows the collapse of a £6.5million plan with Burnley Council for the redevelopment of the whole bus station area.

Redevelopment of the bus station is going ahead separately.

Safeway House is owned by Manchester-based developers Modus Properties who have submitted a planning application for redevelopment of the building which has been described in recent years as an eyesore.

Project manager Damien Flood said they intended to provide shops on the ground floor facing Gunsmith Place and were having talks with the pub chain, which is not being named at this stage, for other areas of the ground floor.

Part of that area is currently occupied by Brewsters stores who are moving into the shopping precinct. A taxi office and key cutting kiosk are also to be relocated.

Other units at the front facing on to the bus station are vacant.

The company is also to start refurbishment of the first floor office accommodation. Mr Flood said: "We are intending to let the office block floor by floor and are talking to local agents in the area to review demand."

The company was making a substantial financial investment in the development and it was hope to start the first phase of the scheme in the summer.

He said: "It is a very prominent building on the way into the town centre."

The planning application involves a change of use of part of the ground floor from shops to pub use and is due to go before the council's development and control sub-committee.