PLANS have been submitted for 32 retirement apartments in part of a much-missed former arts venue.

Darlington Arts Centre closed its doors in July 2012 as a result of council funding cuts and plans to transform the red-brick Victorian building collapsed 11 months later.

The 19th Century building was later put on the market and expected to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds which Darlington Borough Council said it would put back into the town.

The latest proposal involves plans to transform the rear of the site – not including the distinctive red-brick facade of the former arts centre – into apartments for retired people.

Developer McCarthy and Stone submitted the plans to the council, after holding a public exhibition in December, with more than 900 residents, businesses and stakeholders invited.

Steve Secker, the company's regional managing director, said: "We’re delighted with the positive response received from the local community and are grateful to everyone who has taken the time to provide their feedback on the proposal.”

The plan includes 32 one and two-bedroom apartments, with 25 on-site parking spaces set in professionally landscaped gardens.

The former arts centre is a ten-minute walk from the town centre and is served by local bus routes to the wider area which makes it well placed to provide specialist retirement accommodation.

McCarthy and Stone said occupants of the proposed apartments could include those looking to downsize, potentially releasing larger homes onto the market for the benefit of young families.

Mr Secker added: “The site is ideally located for accessing amenities and has good public transport links to the wider area.

“Our proposals have been sensitively designed and we’re confident they will make a positive contribution to the local area, improving housing choice and helping to release larger family homes back onto the market.”

Whether or not the plans go ahead is now in the hands of Darlington Borough Council’s planning committee, which is likely to vote on the planning application in the coming months.

John Dean, chairman of Darlington for Culture, the group that speaks on arts matters in the town and fought unsuccessfully to save the arts centre from closure, said: "Our members always felt it was important that the character of the building was retained in whatever form it was redeveloped."

For more details about the planning application, call the free project information line on 0800-298-7040 or visit the project website, mccarthyandstone-consultation.co.uk/darlington