TURNING a pub into a collection of bedsits would make the building "possibly more vibrant" than when it was a hostelry - according to a new planning application.

The Grade II listed George and Dragon on Great Horton Road dates back to the early 1800s, and has been empty for some time.

Now a planning application has been submitted to Bradford Council to turn the building into a "house of multiple occupation" for ten people.

The application, submitted by Yorkshire Property Surveyors, is accompanied by a heritage statement that enthusiastically claims that the changes will allow the building to remain a "useful member of the locality" and enter a "third century of popular and affectionate use."

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The application says that many of the pubs in the area have been replaced or re-purposed over the years. But the George and Dragon's heritage listing had spared it from the bulldozers.

Many of the traditional features of the pub will be retained if the application is approved, and the planning application is accompanied by a listed building consent application.

The application's heritage statement, written by Bulldog Design, adds: "The building is obviously old, with exposed internal timber beams, large and small, the large double-sided chimney breast towards the Great Horton Road end of the building, but there is nothing apparently individual or unique in itself, just a palette of old features plumped together."

It goes on to say that turning the George and Dragon into bedsits is not only a suitable use for the old building - but that it will replicate the feel of the pub.

It says: "If the building is not required to continue as a Public House, then it should continue as a building that is similarly used by a number of un-associated people as a residence rather than as a shop or alternative business premises.

"If the original public rooms could be combined to create the central hub of the house, the place of congregation, the meeting place, the beating heart where the occupants can meet, cook, eat and talk, then they can disperse into their own rooms before starting all over again, then the building can enter a new phase of existence, using all of it's unique and historic features and character to create a new, possibly more vibrant, centre of occupancy and residence, retaining it's name, identity and presence in the locality and ensuring that it remains a useful member of that locality.

"The George and Dragon will be re-invented to face a third century of popular and affectionate use."

A decision on the planning application is expected next month.