Plans have been revealed for a former bank that has stood empty for more than a year.

The former NatWest bank in High Street, Wigton, was sold at the Pugh property auction in Manchester in 2018 for £56,000.

Now, a Manchester-based property developer has come forward, and revealed his plans to bring the building back into use.

Tagg Developments Ltd has previously worked on historical buildings in the county, completing a similar project to this in Carlisle.

The business has now spoken to The Cumberland News about its plans to turn the 1,600sq ft Georgian building into both commercial and residential space.

Joel Tagg, owner of the development company, said: “For a number of years I’ve been looking for an opportunity to move back to Cumbria.

“Upon completion of this scheme, I would like - and hope - to keep the second floor of the building for myself.

“For this reason, there is a lot of personal passion tied up within the project.”

Mr Tagg plans to work with local builder Simon Dockeray, owner of Cumbrian Home Renovation Services, who he has completed projects with before.

Together they aim to create five residential units, with the retention of a ground floor retail unit on demand.

There will be two houses at the back of the building and three apartments in the main building, as well as the retail space on the ground floor.

Developers are now refining their plans with support from Allerdale Council, and Mr Tagg said the company hopes to submit a planning application in the next couple of months.

The space has remained vacant since NatWest closed its Wigton branch in October 2017, and since then many other banks and premises in the town have been left empty.

Brian Campbell, the chairman of the group of artists which runs the Fountain Gallery next door to the former bank, gave his views on the plans to bring the building back into use.

He said: “It’s good news, it’s always better to have something in use rather than standing empty. We’ve already lost the HSBC, NatWest and soon Barclays, it’s not good for the town.

“We’ve made a real effort to smarten up the shop fronts and it’s not good when they are empty.”

Mr Campbell believes one of the strengths of the town is its independent businesses, and would like to see it in use for anything which could benefit Wigton.

Mr Tagg added: “While we’re busy working through the planning process over the next year, any community group or small business that could benefit from using the bank space for free should get in touch.”

If you would like to use the retail space, contact Mr Tagg via email on taggdevelopments-wigton@yahoo.com.