Plans have now been submitted for the development of the Hampshire Chronicle site in the centre of Winchester.

Owner of the premises, Peter Fowler, trading as Jacob and Johnson, has applied to the city council to convert the historic building for retail and housing.

The Grade II listed buildings at 57, High Street, and 10, St Clement Street, have a history dating to 1300.

After the newspaper was established in 1772, the owners, Jacob and Johnson, went on to acquire Hampshire House, in St Clement Street, and further expansion occurred in 1894, with the building of a printworks and offices designed by Thomas Stopher.

The old printworks, stretching along Hammonds Passage to the rear of the shop, will be converted to create one four-bedroom house and eight mews-style apartments.

The building will undergo extensive repair work, using traditional materials and methods, with "minimal impact" to the historic fabric, say Robert Adam Architects, whose conservation specialist, Sarah Sullivan, has come up with a simple layout with exposed ceiling trusses and lightweight steel and glass spiral staircases.

"The proposals are imaginative yet unobtrusive and will retain the plan, volume and special features of these listed buildings," said Gareth Bristow, a director of the architects.

"The shop front in the High Street is an historically-important building, a fine example of a Georgian double bow-fronted faade. Its use as a shop will be retained and existing room layouts on the first and second floors will also be undisturbed.

"Galleries will be created within the roof space, allowing exceptional views from the clerestory roof lantern over the city of Winchester. A new link will also be formed between the shop and the printworks, replacing the unsympathetic corrugated metal bridge currently spanning the buildings.

"The adjoining Hampshire House in St Clement Street, previously converted into a staff canteen and darkrooms, will become an independent building once more. The removal of the existing roof over the old press hall at its rear will open up a small garden at the heart of the site, reflecting the original use of the site as the Peryne Garden.

"The carefully-considered proposals were urgently required to ensure that the buildings did not fall into a serious state of disrepair.

"The mixture of office and residential spaces will keep the buildings in active use and secure their future and long-term upkeep. Our approach to the refurbishment from the outset has been conservation-led, with a view to restoring fabric of historic importance and interest and respecting the existing features; the use of modern materials in close proximity to the old visually clarifies what is original and is sensitive to these important buildings.

"The proposals will hopefully provide a future for these important landmark buildings within the city centre, which are so important to the people of Winchester."

The Chronicle is due to vacate the premises next month, moving advertising and editorial departments to Staple Gardens with its "front office" facilities transferring to Upper Brook Street.

* Hugh Petter, from Robert Adam Architects, Winchester, heads an international team responsible for the design, unveiled yesterday (Thursday), for Atlanta's £20m, 70ft-high "Millennium Gate" - the USA's first classical monument since the Jefferson Memorial of 1936.