A SWANAGE baker has drawn up plans which could transform a quiet backwater in the heart of the town.

Peter Hayman is the third generation of his family to run Hayman's Bakery, which employs a staff of 20 in Commercial Road.

He has drawn up plans to redevelop his bakery with a mix of shops, offices and flats and create a pedestrian route connecting Kings Road East and Commercial Road.

The covered walkway along the side of Erica's florists will recreate an access point historically used by milkfloats when Fred Soar's dairy was based in Commercial Road.

Mr Hayman wants to move his bakery operation to an industrial site, fearing the effects of a pending development of flats and shops earmarked for the empty former Silver Fish Grill site.

He said: "Once that development starts I need to be out of here because it is going to be virtually impossible to get in and out of here."

His proposals are for a three-storey development on the bakery site with two shops facing onto Commercial Road, a third shop facing onto the new walkway and two offices. On the upper floors will be a one bedroom flat and seven two-bedroom flats.

Mr Hayman, whose grandfather established the bakery in the 1920s, said: "These will be first-time buyers' flats. There is a government directive wanting people to live in town centres and this plan will enhance this whole area.

"The biggest drawback to this area is that it's a cul-de-sac. This walkway will create a diagonal cut-through and with these shops, I think it is going to stimulate the area."

First published: November 4