A FORMER squat which hosted the Free Shop in Stokes Croft could be converted into another restaurant and more flats in the latest sign the area is flourishing.

Bars and restaurants have turned the thoroughfare from a place to avoid at night to a destination for the latest generation of students and young professionals.

And now another new eatery could occupy a derelict and neglected Grade II listed building which has been left to crumble.

An application has been submitted to Bristol City Council to turn the former Free Shop at 35-37 Stokes Croft into a restaurant with four flats above and three new houses at the rear. The building, believed to have been built in 1780, was occupied by squatters for a number of years.

In 2011 bailiffs served notice that they intended to move in to take possession of the Bristol Freeshop, neighbouring art gallery the Emporium and flats above. But in 2012 residents living nearby said they believed squatters had returned after they were kept awake for three nights running over a bank holiday weekend due to a 72-hour party.

And later that year the squatters’ return was highlighted again by a visit from Richard Madeley making a television documentary about squatting in the UK. The current planning application submitted in December by Lydia Bartlett of Henleaze, says the buildings are in an “advanced state of decay both inside and out”. It adds that they have been included on the Bristol Listed Buildings at Risk Register since its inception in 1998.

The register – last updated in 2011 – classifies the buildings as risk grade I with a priority grade A – Immediate risk of further rapid deterioration or loss of fabric. In the years since the building was first squatted the area has seen a significant face lift – spurred on by the openings of a number of restaurants, bars and cafes.

No.51, a few doors up from the former Free Shop, joined a growing number of trendy nightspots which have made Stokes Croft a draw for party-goers and students.

The new application will enable the ground floor to be converted into a possible restaurant with the Victorian frontage preserved. The restaurant unit will have four flats above and four houses behind.

The application is currently pending and is open to consultation until February 10. Search for it at http://planningonline.bristol.gov.uk/online-applications