Work planned for derelict Bristol Royal Mail building

The first tenants could move into the refurbished building in 2012

Building work to transform a derelict former Royal Mail sorting office in Bristol could begin in the autumn, the BBC has learned.

The block near Temple Meads railway station, on Cattle Market Road, has been empty for the past 14 years.

Developers Kian Gwan Land gained planning consent for the work in 2005 but are reapplying as that permission lapsed several years ago.

The first tenants are due to move in six months after work starts.

The first company to confirm it is moving to the site is music firm Vinyl Factory.

The owners are planning to use the ground floor of the building with recording studios, offices and exhibition space.

Mark Wadhwa, from Vinyl Factory, said discussions over the move had been "going on for a long time".

He said: "Quite a lot of work has been going on to strip it out and there's been a lot of environmental work going on in terms of tanks [petrol, used by Royal Mail] which needed to be removed.

"The landlords are encouraging independent tenants to kickstart the development.

"They've committed to skin the building, landscape it and create a social enterprise centre."

Local councillor Brenda Hugill said she welcomed the news.

She said: "It really is a good story in an otherwise difficult time in the city."