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Plans to transform a historic former trade union building in Leicester have been approved.

The Grade II listed building, off Lee Circle, was built in 1902 and was once the Boot and Shoe Operatives Union and National Union Headquarters.

It has stood empty in recent years but it will now be refurbished and brought back into a variety of uses, including a gym, shisha bar and café.

A previous plan to convert the building into flats was approved in 2017 but the work was not started.

The building is considered a symbol of Leicester’s significance in the national boot and shoe industry and of its strong working class traditions, Historic England said.

It was vacated by the union in 1978 and then taken over by the Hindu group Swaminarayam Mission, which used the building until the early 21st Century.

The building has been vacant since the group left, the said.

Now, Leicester City Council’s planning department has approved a scheme to create a restaurant, ladies' gym, salon, café, grocery store, offices and a shisha bar.

Part of the existing roof will be a terrace for the shisha bar, while the Earl Street side of the building will be raised to create a fourth and fifth storey.

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