City living is expected to escalate as plans were unveiled today for more apartments in the heart of the shopping area.

Bradford Property Restoration Ltd wants to convert empty offices on the second to sixth floors of an imposing stone building into apartments aimed at city workers.

The developers have applied to Bradford Council for planning permission for the £750,000 scheme.

The ten luxury apartments above the Old Bank pub would be let at rents between £400 and £600 a week.

The apartments will be next to 15 flats in Ivebridge House which have been developed by Landmark Development Projects Ltd and are all sold. Landmark also has plans for a further 60 apartments in Broadgate House, Manor Row.

Bradford Council is backing living schemes for the city as a way of bringing vibrancy to the streets after 5pm and making it safer.

Jim Brown, managing director of Bradford Property Restoration, said his firm had successfully developed similar schemes in Leeds and Ripon, North Yorkshire.

He added: "There are a lot of big empty buildings in Bradford city centre. I have lived in Bradford all my life and think it needs a leg up."

The planning application is expected to be heard within the next few weeks and the scheme is expected to take about three months to complete.