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31
May 2024
Plans approved to convert former Harrogate working men’s club into flats
Plans to convert a former Harrogate working men's club into flats have been approved.
The change of use application, which was tabled to North Yorkshire Council in February, outlines plans to convert two floors of the High Harrogate Working Men’s Club, on Devonshire Place, into two apartments.
The plans sought approval to convert the ground floor – which houses the bar – and the lower floor for residential use.
Planning permission was granted in 2022 to change the first and second floor into six apartments, but to retain and refurbish the existing ground floor bar.
However, the planning and heritage statement, submitted in support of the proposal, says the “continued public house/working men’s club facility within the building is no longer considered to be viable”.
Marketing documentation submitted said 6,500 people have been approached about re-instating the site as a pub, or for a “suitable" community use, since August 2022.
It adds this led to eight "interested parties" but no offers were made.
The interior of the former working men's club.
Documents also cite a viability and marketing report, prepared by commercial property consultants Everard Cole, which estimated a capital expenditure of around £600,000 to £750,000 would be required to refurbish the working men's club.
Trade had declined "significantly" at the working men's club, due to covid and changes in the market, the document adds.
An email from Nationwide Business Sales uploaded to the planning portal said the "huge costs" involved in refurbishing the pub "vastly outweigh the value of the completed business".
Everard Cole's report concludes the property did not have a "viable future as a public house" given the "period of advertising, lack of interest and previous trading history".
The council's public report said concerns were raised in representations about the “conduct of the landlord”, but adds “no demonstrable evidence has been provided in relation to this”.
“The conduct of the landlord is not a material planning condition”, the report also said.
The application was approved subject to conditions on Tuesday (May 28).
The former club operated since 1901 but is currently closed.
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