Plans for one of York’s biggest nightclubs to be turned into flats and a restaurant could be scuppered after council officers said the proposals should be turned down.
The owners of Club Salvation on George Hudson Street want to turn the venue into 19 flats, with shops and a restaurant on the ground floor.
But conservation experts at the council have said the roof will look too “bulky”, the windows are too modern and plans to change the shop front appear “stark and visually jarring”.
They said the scheme is at risk of causing substantial harm to the character and appearance of a conservation area.
Councillors on the planning committee have now been asked to refuse the application at a meeting on Thursday (February 7).
Inappropriate and harmful
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It is felt that the proposed upper level mansard extension would not be appropriate and would be harmful to the character of the conservation area by virtue of its excessive bulk, angular appearance and inappropriate material.
At the same time the proposed shop front to 25 Tanner Row, even as amended, would also be harmful to the character and appearance of the conservation area by virtue of the jarring juxtaposition with the highly decorative frontage above.
The council’s public protection team did not oppose the plans but did raise concerns about poor air quality and the impact it might have on residents of the new flats if the scheme went ahead.
Last summer a spokesman for club owners McMillan (York) Ltd said the venue was not closing down but they may need to relocate the nightclub if it finds itself “unsupported by our surroundings”.
That followed plans to open a Malmaison Hotel in former Aviva offices nearby and the expansion of the Grand Hotel.
Huge site
The application says: “As the building sits now it is an eyesore and harms the surrounding buildings that maintain their detailing and identity from the 19th century.
“Also, removing the nightclub use will improve the area by creating a restaurant with an active frontage and strong sense of presence at street level for both residents and visitors to the City of York.
“The site will provide much needed quality accommodation and employment.”
The corner entrance point would be kept as the entrance to the new restaurant.
The application says the basement and ground floors of the building would be used as shops and a restaurant, with the four floors above converted into 19 flats including six duplexes.
The original plans for the roof extension were changed from three storeys to a single storey with flats in a roof above to address the conservation concerns, but officers do not feel the amendments go far enough.