Hitchin's former Venue Bar on Bancroft is being turned into flats.

The site on Bancroft has been boarded up for a few months, with work set to start on converting the building into 13 apartments.

Conditional planning permission had been granted a full five years ago.

The original application, seen by Hitchin Nub News, requests a "change of use from offices (B1 use) and bar / nightclub (A4 use) to 2 x 1 bedroom flats and 11 x 2 bedroom flats."

A public comment lodged as an objection at the time stated: "Ground floors of buildings with prominent frontage to main streets of Hitchin Town should be left for commercial use & not turned into flats.

"Too many pubs/bars/clubs are being lost to restaurants/flats and the town is losing its nightlife."

However, North Herts District Council granted conditional planning approval on August 21, 2015.

The site had been through a number of name changes over the years including the Phoenix, the Tut'n'Shive and the Adam & Eve.