OUTLINE plans have been submitted to flatten a shopping village in Christchurch just 15 months after it won a long-running planning battle.

Applicant Mostyn Levein has applied to Christchurch Borough Council to demolish Christchurch Emporium off Bridge Street and replace it with a three-storey office building.

In 2017, the local authority finally approved the mixed use for the ground floor of the premises comprising of a shop and retail warehouse, cafe, ancillary office and storage facilities.

This came more than 900 days after the operation opened in the former factory building.

The new application to redevelop the site sets out plans for the B1 use premises which will have the same footprint as the existing structure.

A statement submitted on behalf of the applicant by Chapman Lily Planning Limited says: "The application proposes to demolish the existing building and erect a new, purpose built, development providing circa 4883sqm of B1 office floorspace.

"Although the application is in outline the matters for consideration are access and scale, the requisite plans have been provided to show the details of the site layout, the three storey scale with a shallow pitched roof and the utilisation of the established point of access.

"The proposal provides an opportunity to introduce a use, being B1, which is policy complaint, reflecting the aims of adopted and emerging policies, and allows for the establishment of an active site frontage with Stony Lane South, improving legibility to the street.

"The layout demonstrates that the site can accommodate on-site parking and dependent upon the end occupiers needs and provide for the requisite cycle parking and bin storage provision.

"It is considered that the proposed development successful integrates with the established street scene and character of the area."

Warehouse traders Molly's Den currently operate a large area of the space at the shopping village.

The Avon Works site, which was formerly Mostyn's Factory, is also home to Drop the Anchor microbrewery.

Christchurch Emporium opened at the site in April 2015, however it did not have the appropriate planning permission.

This sparking a planning saga, which rumbled on between the council and operators of the shopping village until it was settled in October 2017 with a time-limited approval from the local authority's planning committee.

The change of use applied for by the emporium operators was approved for two years specifically for the applicants.