AN old warehouse in Frankwell is set to be transformed into a thriving nightspot by the end of the year, developers hope.

The Old Maltings in Frankwell (not to be confused with the ongoing Flaxmill Maltings project in Ditherington) stands next to Frankwell car park and the new Shropshire Council buildings on one side, the Theatre Severn complex on the other.

It has seen lots of businesses come and go, but has fallen into disuse in recent times.

Now Kad Zaman, the owner of the Station Hotel in Wellington, wants to redevelop it into a thriving complex.

“The idea is to regenerate the building, so it can be made use of again,” said Mr Zaman. “There are lots of units in there. If you find the right tenants they’ll bring in their own people.”

He said the riverside setting, next to the theatre and one of the towns biggest car parks, made it a good location and he had been approached by a few restaurants and a cafe interested in using the space.

He also planned to open his own bar in the development and was looking into making use of the mooring that used to hold the Dara Thai floating restaurant.

Mr Zaman took on the building two years ago and has now stripped the interior and applied for permission to put up billboard signs advertising for interested businesses.

Everything is in the very early stages but when completed “it’s going to be a benefit to the town”.

Architects GMP Design Associates said the building was around 250 years old.

“We want to maintain as much of the historical fabric of the building as possible, but with modern touches.,” he said.

“We’re looking to bring it all back to life including the derelict parts. It will be for multi-functional use, for offices, bars, restaurants and retail.”

He said the building had seen varied use in the past, most recently housing an antiques store and an indian restaurant.

They hoped were planning to keep the restaurant facilities on the ground floor.

“It’s next to the theatre so it’s well located for people to go for dinner after or a drink before hand,” he said.

“The owner is keen to get things moving as quickly as possible, we should hopefully get people moving in there before Christmas.”

For more information about the plans and ideas for the complex, see www.frankwellquay.co.uk