A developer has appealed a decision to refuse plans to convert the former Kings Club in Harrogate into 14 flats.

The strip club, which was based on Oxford Street, closed during the first covid lockdown in 2020 and never reopened.

The proposal, which was submitted by Harrogate developer Forward Investments LLP in October 2023, would have seen the first and second floors of the building converted into flats.

According to planning documents, 12 two-bedroom and two one-bedroom flats would have been created on the upper floors of the site.

James Robinson, a chartered building surveyor, said in a statement to North Yorkshire Council that the move would allow the building to be brought back into viable use.

However, the authority refused the plan on the grounds that it could not reach an agreement over off site open space and affordable housing in the Section 106 legal agreement, which details what measures developers must take to compensate for the impact of their schemes.

In a decision notice issued in April this year, Mike Parkes, case officer at the council, said:

Now, the developer has taken the decision to the government’s Planning Inspectorate, which deals with planning disputes.

A government-appointed planning inspector will make a decision on the appeal at a later date.

The Kings Club, which described itself as ‘Yorkshire premier gentleman’s club’, offered topless pole dancing, topless stage strip tease and full nudity lap dancing.

The 200-capacity venue was set out over two bar levels and included 25 strip booths as well as a large dancing stage with a pole.