A DILAPIDATED former pub on the edge of Taunton could be turned into bedsits.

A planning application to convert the Staplegrove Inn into a nine-bedroom house of multiple occupancy (HIMO) has been submitted to Taunton Deane Borough Council.

The once-popular local off the roundabout linking Staplegrove Road and Greenway Road has fallen into disrepair since it closed in 2010.

A previous application for it to become a HIMO was turned down by planners last October on the grounds it constituted an over development of the site.

The owners, Stone Holdings SW Ltd, have proposed several alterations to the rejected scheme, including an external staircase, en suites in all bedrooms and two kitchens/communal rooms.

In a statement to the council, Boon Brown Planning, on behalf of the applicant, said keeping the building as a pub or as a community facility was not viable as it would cost £755,000 to get it up and running again due to the state of the premises. Takings at the time of its closure were around £1,000 a week.

The statement said: "The building is dilapidated and would require extensive works to refurbish the public house to modern day standards."

It added: "The Staplegrove Inn has been vacant for approximately eight years despite the property being listed for sale on at least three occasions.

"There were two opportunities to purchase the property at auction; no community users made a bid."

It was sold in 2017, when the buyer launched a crowdfunding appeal to raise £80,000 to convert it into a Polish restaurant, but that "failed to get off the ground".

The building was bought by Stone Holdings last year after it went to auction.