Developer hopes to move forward with plans for Peterborough's Whitworth Mill in the New Year

Developers looking to inject new life into Peterborough’s historic Whitworth Mill say plans should be unveiled next year.

Lioncross Whitworth, of Surrey, bought the 19th century Mill and surrounding land at Fletton Quays in March 2021 after the building had to be marketed for a second time by Peterborough City Council.

Since then the company says it has been in talks with design companies but has ruled out a boutique hotel use for the mill which was a central feature of earlier designs proposed by an earlier prospective buyer, Samsons, of Bedford, which pulled out of the sale shortly after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

But the revamp of the Mill is awkward as it is home to about 35 bats of various species that have taken up residency in the tunnel under the building.

There are also believed to be four species of bat active within the vicinity of the mill.

Mike Craddock, director of Lioncross Properties, said: “We hope to finally be in a position to submit early in the New Year.

"We have more or less finalised the Mill Design side but still have a few more of our professional team working through their reports on the new build element.

“We are still working through the various reports we need to finalise the application.

"As with large schemes of this nature there is a whole of raft of reports needed and as a result of some of the early professional reports we have had to tweak designs to ensure we meet planning criteria."