The former Co-operative offices in the city centre are empty and run down

The owners of a popular riverside pub in Preston could be expanding to a new site in the city centre.

A planning application has been made by New Continental Properties to change the former Co-Operative building on Ormskirk Road from a restaurant into a bar.

The listed buiding, known Sheraton House, is built in the Edwardian Baroque style.

Part of the property was previously a Chinese restaurant, So Noodles.

The plans follow a request to vary the premises licence, as reported by Blog Preston in October 2012.

The application states the new pub would be able to open from 9am to 4am on Monday to Sunday.

The New Continental has played hosts to many popular beer festivals

Co-owner Jeremy Rowlands already runs the New Continental on South Meadow Lane which re-opened in Autumn 2008 and has been twice named as CAMRA’s real ale pub of the year in West Lancashire.

Anyone wishing to have their say on the application can email their views to devcon@preston.gov.uk by Friday 11 January 2013. Any correspondence should quote reference number 06/2012/0953.

The full plans can be seen on the council website.

What do you think of the plan? Would you visit the new pub? Let us know your views in the comments below