A former fruit and veg market is set to be transformed into an arts space.

Brighton and Hove City Council has applied for planning permission to breathe new life into the disused Old Municipal Market in Circus Street by making it into a major cultural location.

The council passed a resolution in October to help art groups to exhibit in slack spaces, sites which have stood unused for long periods, and this latest proposal would find a new use for a long disused site.

It would not be the first time the market has been used as an exhibition site, having hosted Anish Kapoor's red powder sculpture “ The Dismemberment of Jeanne D'Arc” during the Brighton Festival in May last year.

The market's reincarnation as an arts space could be the site's final hurrah as the application is a temporary change of use for two years for cultural and community uses.

After this it is proposed the market will be demolished to make way for Grow Brighton, a net zero-carbon development offering housing, employment space, a new university library and dance facility.

The market opened in 1938 and was last in use in January 2005 since when it has become derelict.

The application states that it is hoped the venue will be used for key high profile events curated and managed by the council and its cultural partners.

Green councillor Bill Randall, who put a motion to the council last year proposing the use of slack spaces for art, said: “This is a great idea that brings a really good and wasted space into use.

“The Anish Kapoor exhibition last year demonstrates the potential for art exhibitions in this space and other schemes in markets like Spitalfields and Borough show just what can be achieved with a little thought to bring used spaces back to life.

“There is a chronic shortage of affordable art spaces in the city and I am confident that Brighton's large creative community can make the most of the space.”

Matt Turner ran the popup gallery with James Woodley in the disused old music library in Church Street before a French restaurant chain took over the property and is now looking for other sites in the city.

He said: “I'm very positive about this, it sounds like a great idea.

“So many people have suggested to us that we should get in there.

“As far as we're concerned the more art spaces up and running in Brighton the better, it all adds to the culture in the city.”

A council spokesman said: “The application is designed to enable arts events to happen a little more often until the developers Cathedral are able to carry out their plans for the site.”

A decision will be made on May 7.