Work to turn the former Crown Post Office in York into a restaurant is moving forward, albeit slowly.
Back in 2019, plans were first revealed to transform the ground and first floor of the Lendal building into a steakhouse.
It followed the controversial decision by the Post Office to sell up and transfer the branch into WH Smith on Coney Street.
New owners, hospitality chain Mitchells & Butlers, were granted planning permission to create a Miller & Carter steakhouse in the Lendal building in November 2019.
At the time, they said: “This would be a fantastic opportunity for Miller & Carter and we hope to provide York with the best steak experience, which we are renowned for across the UK.”
This was before the pandemic brought so much of hospitality to a halt.
Revised plans
Little has been done to progress the development, which has to start by the end of November this year to be compliant with planning regulations.
But now the company has requested permission to alter the plans before starting work.
New drawings show that the number of covers in the ground floor bar would reduce from 24 to 20, and covers in the restaurant drop from 156 to 144. Extra storage space would be added.
In the basement, new flooring is proposed along with changes to the coldrooms.
A spokesperson for Miller & Carter told YorkMix: “We are happy to confirm that Miller & Carter York is going ahead with plans to open mid-2023.”
The upper floors are currently used as offices and will not be affected by the scheme, according to the original planning documents.
The Post Office was built in 1884. It was once one of two main telephone exchanges in the city centre, with the other in Parliament Street.