13 April 2011 Last updated at 07:54 ET

Sleaford Maltings £50m scheme is approved

The building was on English Heritage's At Risk register after decades of neglect

A Lincolnshire landmark will be renovated after a £50m development plan was agreed.

The Bass Maltings in Sleaford, a series of six-storey Victorian red brick towers, have stood largely empty for 50 years and had been vandalised.

The Grade II* complex will be turned into shops, office space and more than 220 apartments and houses.

North Kesteven District Council said it hoped the project would create 500 jobs and bring millions in investment.

English Heritage had classified the Maltings as the largest at risk building in England.

The organisation worked with the developer to protect as much of the original structure as possible.

'Significant investment'

Simon Cocks from developer Gladedale Estates said: "We are not altering the external elevations at all.

"There will be some internal demolitions but that is mostly taking down the fire damaged sections."

The council's Economic Development Manager, Alan Gray, emphasised the importance of the project.

"The Maltings scheme is an integral part of the wider Sleaford South East Regeneration project which has schemes which, when taken together, represent the biggest and most economically-significant commercial investments Sleaford has seen since the opening of the Navigation more than 200 years ago."

It is expected work will get under way in the autumn.