THE full plans to turn one of Bournemouth's most prominent shop fronts into a French restaurant have been revealed.

Côte Brasserie has put forward plans for the former Austin Reed clothing store at 1 Westover Road, which closed in May last year alongside the majority of the firm's other outlets across the country.

The loss was a blow to Westover Road, one of the town's more prestigious shopping destinations.

Last year also saw the opening of a branch of pizza chain The Stable in the former Tourist Information Centre on the other side of the road by the gardens.

The building Côte Brasserie hopes to occupy is listed Grade II and subject to the council's town centre area action plan, which states that: "within the designated primary frontage, the loss of retail units will be resisted".

In a planning statement prepared by Pegasus Group, the firm says: "The loss of one retail unit in this location which neighbours the secondary shopping frontage, is considered to have a negligible impact on the retail function of the primary shopping area.

"Côte is a well renowned restaurant, the concept of which is based on the many famous bistros of Paris," the statement says.

"The proposed change of use will therefore see the transformation of a vacant site into a vibrant restaurant, increasing footfall and interest in this town centre location."

The plans include outdoor seating both on the ground and the first floor, with the outdoor seating 'wrapped' around the entire frontage of the building.

It will cater for 158 people inside and 28 people outside, and will be open every day for breakfast through to lunch and dinner.

It is hoped the restaurant will encourage more people to visit the town centre, boosting the 'vitality and viability' of the area.

The statement adds: "Whilst outdoor seating is proposed, there is no provision for large tables outdoors.

"Given the width of the street in this location, the loss of amenity space would not be significant and would not cause any adverse effects in terms of highway safety.

"The use of the pavement for outdoor seating will animate the front of the building whilst providing an attractive place for restaurant dwellers.

"As such, customers who are using the outdoor seating area will not make any significant contribution to noise."

The plans will be considered by Bournemouth council planning officers.

The brasserie is the latest in a long series of new eateries bidding to open in Bournemouth over the past two years.

In the new BH2 development alone some 13 new restaurants have opened or are due to open over the coming months. These include large chains like TGI Fridays, Nandos, Chiquito and Las Iguanas, as well as smaller chains including The Real Greek, Five Guys, the Handmade Burger Company and Miller and Carter.