Owners of the Music Box nightclub, in St Ives, have re-submitted plans to turn the building into flats.

Fortquest Ltd was refused planning permission earlier this year by Huntingdonshire District Council after it was deemed that the plans “would harm the special architectural and historic interest of the listed building”.

The previous application from the club’s owners stated that the premises, in Crown Place, would be turned into four large two bedroom apartments which were considered by the district council to be “inappropriate” and had a “very limited public benefit”.

The current proposal is for four one and two bedroom flats, with a design that is, the developers say, sympathetic to the features of the existing building and its surroundings.

Following a meeting with the developers, conservation officer at the district council Nick Armour said: “I am satisfied with the general approach to the conversion...will reintroduce a representative feeling of space that has otherwise been lost within this historic hall.”

The decision to turn the nightclub into flats was made after a fall in custom during the club’s Friday opening hours and, in recent years, the closure of its Thursday night event.

The club is also open on a Saturday night.

In a letter to the district council Simon Parsons, director of Fortquest Ltd, said: “Sadly we feel that we are in a declining market with the club tenuously supported by a ‘one night’ a week operation.

“We have therefore been forced to take steps to secure our investment whilst preserving the listed building by giving it a sustainable future use should we not be able to halt the decline.”

The planning application will be considered by planning officials, with a decision due next year. To view the plans, or to have a say, visit www.huntingdonshire.gov.uk