As work moves on to clear the site of a bike shop which was wrecked by fire plans have been drawn up to create a new store along with flats on the site.

The proposals for Cycle King, on Angel Hill, in Bury St Edmunds, is currently in the hands of the planning department at St Edmundsbury Borough Council which is hoped to give final approval by the end of March.

And the removal of the debris and clearance of the site is all set to be completed by the end of this week, weather permitting, said Darren Hunt, Cycle King’s group retail managing director.

The plans include a new shop on the ground floor with one two-bedroomed flat and three one-bedroomed flats above at first and second floor level.

It comes as firefighters who dealt with the blaze last September were treated to a meal at the neighbouring One Bull pub which they helped to save from also being destroyed in the inferno.

Thirty-five of them were given a roast pork meal on Sunday as a “massive thank you” from the owners and staff.

David Marjoram, who owns the One Bull with his wife Roxane, said: “It was our way of saying a massive thank you to the firefighters and we made sure we spent time with them.

“They just felt it was their job to tackle the fire but they took such a great risk to save the pub and it was just something to show how grateful we were and how important it was.

“When they initially arrived they did not think that they would save the One Bull and you realised how close we were to losing it.”

However, there have been objections to the plans, which have been submitted by Munday and Cramer Architectural Surveyors, with Bury Town Council saying it would be a loss of privacy, over-development and health and safety issues.

Meanwhile, Mr Hunt said: “We are just clearing the old site then we will wait for the planning permission to be granted.

“We are trying to be sympathetic to the area but it is really dependant on the planning permission but our timescale is to be back in the building within the next 12 months.”

He added that the businesses, which moved to a site in Chamberlayne Road, on the Moreton Hall Estate, following the fire was currently “struggling” with trade which had been “very challenging” during the first quarter of the move.

“Where we would get a lot of passing trade on Angel Hill that has dropped off at the new site but we are still doing great offers and deals,” he said.