PUB chain J D Wetherspoon confirmed this week that it intends to buy the former Beale's (Bath) Ltd women's clothes shop in St John's Street.

Contracts have been exchanged on the empty shop, but the sale is dependent on the company getting planning permission to convert the Grade II* listed property into a pub and obtaining a drinks licence from magistrates.

Wetherspoons has been looking for a suitable property in Devizes town centre for the past two years.

The Beale's property was its favoured site and negotiations have been on going for months.

Eddie Gershon, spokesman for Wetherspoons, said: "We have been looking in Devizes for a suitable place for a while and we believe the shop is a good site.

"We have exchanged on this property but it is subject to obtaining planning permission and a licence from the magistrates.

"If we get both of these we will open a pub on the site."

Mr Gershon said Wetherspoons spends at least £1million on converting premises to a pub. If the application is successful in Devizes the pub would employ around 30 full and part-time staff.

Wetherspoons owns around 650 pubs across the country including two pubs in Swindon, and others in Salisbury and Trowbridge.

Wetherspoons do not target a particular age category and its customers range from 18 to pensioners.

The pubs have a no music policy, there are no smoking areas, and food is served all day.

Mr Gershon said: "Devizes is a busy town and there is no reason to suggest we wouldn't be successful there. As well as big towns and cities we like to open pubs in smaller towns and Devizes is a busy market town."

Brad Fleet, director of community services at Kennet District Council, told the Devizes Community Area Forum on Monday: "The principle (of converting Beale's into a pub) may be acceptable to the council subject to the planning committee's decision."

The Beale's shop closed in January this year after 60 years of trading in the town.