Former RAF Club in Preston could soon be converted into an apartment block

New owners of the building, in East View, Deepdale, have applied to the city council for a change of use to residential.

The club, which closed in 2003, became a restaurant for 16 years, but has been empty since 2019.

Plans to convert it into 16 flats have been submitted to the authority.

A report to the council says: "The proposal aims to return a substantial property back in to a sustainable use in keeping with the immediate area.

"The addition of 16 apartments of various sizes for the rental market will increase provision within the city."

The building was a popular members club for ex-service personnel for many years, run by the Royal Air Force Association.

When it closed down in 2003 it was converted into a Portuguese/Asian restaurant called the Royal Piri Piri.

But the eatery proved unpopular with neighbours after complaints of excessive late night noise.

In 2008 residents presented a 108-page dossier to the council claiming it was creating "a menacing atmosphere in a peaceful conservation area."

Locals cited the noise of engines being revved, car doors being slammed and restaurant customers parking in front of their homes. They alleged it had blighted their area.

Eleven years later the owner of a restaurant called Mughlai was fined £18,000 for four offences of excessive noise from an odour extraction unit. The property has been empty ever since.

The building was put on the market in 2019, but due to the pandemic, a buyer was only found this year.

The property will be reconfigured to provide eight one-bedroom flats and eight two-bed.