A property developer has won his long-running battle to turn part of a 125-year-old York pub into flats.
Dominic Woodward of Tri-Core Developments bought The Jubilee in Balfour Street in 2016, and has wanted to convert much of it for housing.
His first attempt was refused in 2019, and City of York Council rejected his second attempt last year, but he has now won a planning appeal against that decision.
It means part of the first floor and all of the roofspace can be turned into three flats. Under the approved plans, a reduced pub will remain on the ground floor, with a smaller function room above.
Local residents had formed The Friends of The Jubilee and had been striving to bring the pub back into full community use.
Shannon Edwards, one of the committee members, told YorkMix: “Most of us feel disappointed in the outcome but there is a lot of reassurance there as well.
Jubilee Timeline
“Our local engagement over the last few years means we have the beer garden and the function room and the downstairs. So we are a bit deflated, but staying positive as well and we’re going to meet to discuss what to do next.”
She said the group had done a lot of work exploring revenue options and business plans for the whole pub, so they would now consider what was possible on a smaller scale. “We still need this community facility and there is definitely a good level of interest in exploring options,” she said.
Viability ‘not affected’
The Jubilee opened in 1897, named in honour of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee that year. It had undergone a succession of managerial changes in the years leading up to its closure in 2016.
Planning agents for Tri-Core had said in the planning application: “The entire property has been vacant and not operating as a pub since 2016.
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The site has been marketed extensively as a public house but has been unable to secure a viable occupier. It is therefore necessary to investigate alternative uses of the property across all floors to ensure its viability.”
They said the previous planning application was rejected at appeal only because of the loss of the function room, which was retained under the revised plans.
In the new ruling, planning inspector F Wilkinson said it was evident that the use of the building as a pub was valued by the community, and said it was “an important social, recreational and community facility” for current and future residents.
But the inspector added:
Although the proposal would reduce the size of the function room, beer garden and ground floor accommodation, the changes would not significantly compromise the social and community facilities that could be provided.
There is no compelling evidence to suggest that the future viability of the pub would be affected to a harmful extent. The community’s ability to meet its day to day needs would not therefore be reduced.
The inspector stated that “the proposed development would not prevent the future operation of the pub by a community group”, although the Friends group has previously said a “vastly diminished” pub would not be a viable proposal.
Watching closely
Nick Love, pub protection officer for the York branch of the Campaign for Real Ale, said: “it is a very poor decision and particularly disappointing in the light of a previous appeal ruling that showed a better understanding of the pub sector.
“That said, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that we have stopped the developer from permanently removing a local community asset and Tri-Core have fought tooth and nail over the last five years to try and secure the permanent closure of a pub on that site and have been defeated in that respect.
“The local residents have set up an excellent organisation with a view to running the pub as a viable community venue and Tri-Core should demonstrate that they have the integrity to engage with them to ensure a positive outcome.
“CAMRA will be monitoring Tri-Core very closely to ensure that they comply with all the conditions imposed by the inspector in return for planning approval.”
Cllr Kallum Taylor (Lab) of Holgate ward said:
While this is disappointing, it will at least move this sorry saga forward, and it would have been far worse had the community just rolled over. Our continued efforts over the years have forced the owner to go from trying to turn the whole building into six flats, to now keeping the pub and function room with just three flats.
The Inspector agreed with us on the importance of protecting the Leeman Road area’s few community spaces but they did not agree that the flats would threaten this. I genuinely hope that they are right and I along with many others are wrong but, clearly, this will depend on whether the owner finally acts in good faith.