A FORMER Basingstoke night club could be transformed into a centre for family fun.

A planning application has been submitted to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council to change the use of the building which used to house music venue STAGE and night club Liquid into a trampoline centre.

The application has been submitted by planning and development consultancy firm Lichfield to convert the site in Churchill Way into a family friendly space.

In addition, a small portion of former retail storage space that is currently associated with the Next retail unit will be used as part of the new venture if the plans are approved.

The proposal submitted by Lichfield’s planner Richard Norman said: “This planning application seeks to deliver a new trampoline centre on a currently vacant nightclub site at Festival Place Shopping Centre.

“In order to facilitate this, a change of use is proposed from 1,111 sq m Sui Generis to D2 Use Class, the adjoining retail storage space is also proposed to change from 844 sq m A1 to D2 Use Class, so as together establish a large enough space to accommodate a trampoline centre.”

It added: “It provides an appropriate new leisure use which will add vitality and viability to Festival Place and the wider town centre.

“The additional new entrance and associated new paving to St John’s Square both aid accessibility and add to the contribution the development will make to the centre’s vitality.

“There is demand for the trampolining centre and no demand to use the small area that was once retail storage space for retail use in the future.”

The Churchill Way site has been empty since music venue STAGE closed in 2016 after the company running it went into liquidation.

As previously reported in The Gazette, Stage Live Limited, which ran STAGE, closed the venue just six months after it opened.