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Oct 2024
Refurb of vandalised Harrogate property 'stuck in planning', says consultant
A property broken into and damaged by vandals in March looks set to be given a new lease of life – but not just yet, according to a planning consultant acting on behalf of its owner.
The upper floors of a row of units on Parliament Street in Harrogate – above Rhodes Wood, Best Bar, Santorini Express and the former Sofa Workshop and Bijouled shops – have been vacant for some time and the property has long been regarded as an eyesore, especially after it was vandalised seven months ago.
Vandals left the property with smashed windows
The owner, Forward Investment Properties Harrogate LLP, has applied to convert the space into commercial units. The deadline for the public to register comments on the application fell earlier this month, and North Yorkshire Council aims to have made a decision on the matter by this Thursday (October 24).
Even so, the property’s rehabilitation does not look imminent.
Asked by the Stray Ferret when work was likely to get underway, Jay Everett, managing director of Addison Planning Consultants, which is acting on behalf of Forward Investment Properties, replied:
No date as far as I know – stuck in planning at the moment.
Forward Investment Properties Harrogate LLP applied in June 2023 to convert the property – which consists of some first-floor retail space, two flats and part of the former Moko Lounge night club – into seven serviced apartments under use-class C1, which planners use to designate residential properties.
But in August 2024, the company submitted a new application to convert the space into eight commercial units under use-classes E(c), E(e) and E(g)(i) – in other words, professional services, medical or health services, and offices, respectively.
Forward Investment Properties Harrogate LLP is a property investment vehicle run by brothers Adam, Tobias and Daniel Ward, who are veteran property developers based in the Harrogate area.
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