Options listed for a fire-gutted historic Barrow building

The former pub on Abbey Road was given Grade II listed status in 1976

A fire-damaged building saved from demolition could be transformed into homes, pop-up food pods or offices.

A feasibility report has drawn up a number of "opportunities" for the Grade II-listed House of Lords building in Abbey Road, Barrow.

The borough council's leader described the options as "interesting and ambitious".

The privately owned former pub, library and working men's club was gutted by fire in 2017.

More than 70 firefighters from Cumbria and Lancashire tackled the blaze in January 2017

Among the possibilities, once the structure is consolidated, are:

• The creation of pop-up pods to offer coffee, street food or bookable meeting rooms

• Rebuilding the south-western end of the property, either to how it once appeared or in a modern style sympathetic to the ruin

• A mix of residential and community units

• The creation of a public space

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the decision would rest with the current or future owners of the site to consider.

The feasibility report was commissioned by Barrow Borough Council last year, using funding from the £1.1m High Street Heritage Action Zone grant awarded by English Heritage in 2019.

The authority has requested that the current owners clear debris and vegetation from areas of the site.

The building as it was before the fire

Ann Thomson, leader of Barrow Borough Council, said: "The building itself is important to the character of the town's conservation area and, along with many residents, we would like to see it looking smart and being used once again.

"Any of these options would not only open up a new chapter of life for the building, they would improve the look and feel of the immediate surrounding area, which is currently suffering because of the derelict and unsightly nature of the site."