A former high street bank could soon see new life as a mixed-use development of shops and flats.

Holly Brown, from the Dorset-based real estate company Five Bees Limited, is seeking permission to convert and extend the old Barclays Bank building on Gorleston High Street.

The plans would mark another shift in the town's changing landscape, creating a retail premises on the ground floor and eight one-bedroom apartments on the first and second floors.

The proposal includes no car parking but offers sheltered cycle spaces for residents.

Barclays bank on Gorleston High Street before it closed in November 2022.Barclays bank on Gorleston High Street before it closed in November 2022. (Image: Google Maps)

Barclays closed its branch on Gorleston High Street in November 2022.

At the time, bosses said the bank had only 27 in-person customers who relied exclusively on in-person services.

The closure followed the exits of NatWest, Santander, and HSBC from the high street, leaving Lloyds as the last bank standing - until its scheduled closure in January next year. 

While some former bank buildings have found new purposes - NatWest becoming a financial services office and HSBC turning into a community hub and café called The Vault - local traders have raised concerns about the impact a bankless high street will have on footfall. 

There have been growing calls for a banking hub that would provide multiple counters for different banks, offering an alternative to stop residents heading to Great Yarmouth for their banking needs.

The site of the former Barclays bank has had a building for hundreds of years - but the current structure dates from the latter part of the 19th century. 

The building is not listed but it is considered to be a building of local significance and could be classed as a non-designated heritage asset.

A decision on the future of the building, currently in the hands of planners at Great Yarmouth Borough Council, is expected by November 5.