PLANS are afoot to renovate tired-looking gaps in Old Town's Wood Street.

A number of schemes are in the pipeline, from a traditional shop front on the site of the former Ken's Fruiterers at 29-29a to a new conservatory to the rear of the Cross Keys pub which, from Friday, is to be renamed Picklejohns after being bought by Picklejohns Leisure.

And at 31 Wood Street a plan has been submitted to transform former offices into five flats.

For some years sections of the street one of Old Town's premier draws have been lying dormant.

Limmex, the former traditional hardware store at the High Street end, remains unoccupied since shutting up shop in Autumn 1999, after serving the area for some 160 years.

But Chris Moore, senior partner at Nigel Clark Architects, said that a new lease of life for the former Ken's Fruiterers site could be imminent if accepted by Swindon Council.

Mr Moore said: "The plan we are working on is for four flats and a maisonette as well as a new shop front. What we would like to do is remove the little partition between the units and open the shop up. It would have a nice, traditional feel to compliment what's been done in Wood Street, particularly the refurbishment of the Cross Keys. We want to remove loose cables and generally tidy the area up."

Mr Moore said that planning permission for the site is currently for a retail unit, but not a food outlet.

He added: "I think Wood Street has enough food outlets such as bars and cafes. The new shop could possibly be a boutique and I envisage the flats would be offered for rent."

Though the scheme envisaged is a tasteful revamp, no car parking will be incorporated because the site does not have room.

At 31 Wood Street, private developers are bidding to turn former offices into five flats, with some courtyard parking at the back.

Les Durrant, group managing director of Devizes Road-based architects DPDS, said: "The property was offices but it has not been able to let them as offices since. The application is for five flats fronting Wood Street, with a rear wing over looking a courtyard. It is part of the urban regeneration of Old Town."

Kal Dhaliwal, operations director of Picklejohns Leisure, said his firm intended to restore the former Cross Keys pub into a traditional, smart establishment comp-limenting Old Town's core area development. "We are creating a colonial feel and plan to build a conservatory with a glass roof on the site of the beer garden at the back, to seat 25 to 30 diners," he said.

"From Friday (Aug 2) the pub will be re-launched as Picklejohns, and we are aiming to provide a quality atmosphere and service which includes in-house professional chefs."

All the applications will be put before Swindon Council in due course.