A former regional daily office condemned for demolition by planning chiefs is set to be saved from the bulldozers.

Just weeks ago planning chiefs on Coventry City Council backed a scheme by Trinity Mirror to redevelop the Coventry Telegraph’s former Corporation Street home in a scheme which would have seen the building replaced.

However, a new developer has now bought the premises, and plans to turn it into a boutique hotel which will feature nods to the site’s newspaper past.

Complex Development Projects, which acquired the site from TM, now aims to preserve the interior of the building which it described as “like a time capsule of the 1950s” with former Telegraph owner Lord Iliffe’s flat still intact.

The newspaper was based at Corporation street for more than 50 years before moving to its current Canal Basin home in 2012.

CDP plans to retain many of the original period features within the building as a central part of its hotel project.

Managing director Ian Harrabin said: “There is growing recognition of the importance of the city’s post-war redevelopment, when Coventry led the world in the planning of its ‘new’ city centre.

“The minimalist design of the 1950s was a major change from what had gone before and is becoming fashionable again today. The Telegraph building is a local landmark and was at the centre of community life for almost 50 years.”

“Planning consent had already been given for its demolition, but we decided to see whether we could save it as an important piece of our more recent heritage.

“The most surprising thing is the interior – it’s like a time capsule of the 1950s, with the reception area, boardroom and Lord Iliffe’s flat still intact.

“Our plans are only at an early stage but the idea is to create a hotel that celebrates the 1950s and Coventry’s story of resurrection. We hope to use the Telegraph’s archives to tell the news stories of the day in a creative way.”

TM’s approved plan proposed demolishing existing buildings and replacing them with a 1,500 sq mixed-use development, though the publisher did not have plans to develop the site itself.