A FORMER pub car park is set to turned into shops, restaurants and takeaways.

The Stags Head pub, which closed in 2011, will be the site for four new retail units now that plans have been passed.

The building itself in Junction Road is set to be partly-demolished and refurbished to create a new children's nursery.

The proposed retail development, which has been scaled back since the plans were first revealed in July, includes parking for 25 cars.

Once complete, it would provide one 238 square-metre unit and three smaller units of 136 square metres each.

A total of eight trees are set to be removed but new landscaping is proposed around the boundaries of the development, according to a council report.

It said: "Whilst some harm, in terms of tree loss and the amenity of the neighbouring residents, has been recognised, it is considered that the sum of the benefits of the proposal, including economic benefits and the improvements to the character and appearance of the area, outweigh this harm."

The mid-19th century building is listed as a building of “special architectural or historic interest” within the Deane conservation area.

In 2006, permission was granted to build eight townhouses in terraces at the site but the development was not implemented.