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29
Oct
Hotel plan for historic Harrogate pub approved
A plan to convert the upper floors of a historic Harrogate pub into a hotel has been approved.
North Yorkshire Council has granted permission for the conversion at The Alexandra pub on Prospect Place.
Owners Mitchells & Butlers Retail Ltd lodged the proposal to install five rooms on the first floor, 10 rooms on both the second and third floors and four rooms on the fourth floor.
The four-storey building, which also has an attic, dates back to the 1800s. Several large screen TVs show live sport in the ground floor pub but the upper floors are largely vacant and derelict.
In a planning statement, the owners said the move will help to secure the future of the building.
It said:
The proposal will maintain, and secure, the long-term future of the public house, which is a valued community asset facility, as well as creating a facility that will support the tourist economy and the vitality and viability of the town centre.
According to the plans, hotel guests will use the main entrances at the pub and check in over the bar.
A new staircase and lift will be installed and a doorway at the side of the building would also be used by guests as a secondary entrance.
The manager’s flat and commercial kitchen on the first floor will be retained.
In a report, Amy Benfold, case officer at North Yorkshire Council, said:
The upper floors of The Alexandra currently have no use at present.
It is considered that the proposal to convert the upper floors to a hotel will enhance tourist accommodation within Harrogate Town Centre which is supported.
History of The Alexandra
The Alexandra was originally built as a hotel called The Albion in the 19th century.
It was renamed in 1863 in honour of Alexandra of Denmark, the new Princess of Wales whose husband later became King Edward VII.
It ceased to operate as a hotel at around the outbreak of the Second World War.
The Alexandra was renamed Gladstone’s in 1984, and later the Rat and Parrot before reverting to the name The Alexandra in 2007.
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