York nightclub to close – and be replaced by a restaurant and holiday flats

A city centre nightclub is set to become a restaurant and block of holiday flats.

The owners of Club Salvation, in George Hudson Street, applied for planning permission to turn the site into a restaurant on the ground floor and basement, with 17 short-stay apartments on the upper storeys for tourists or business travellers.

But some councillors raised concerns about the loss of another city centre music venue.

An agent for the club’s owner told a City of York Council planning meeting that the area is changing – with the opening of the Grand Hotel’s new cookery school and the new Malmaison hotel being built in Rougier Street.

Lee Vincent told the meeting the street is “undergoing positive change” and added: “The applicant has reached the conclusion that the existing nightclub use will in time be no longer compatible with this area of the city.”

Scaled down

A previous application to turn the venue into apartments was withdrawn after planning officers raised concerns about the size of a new roof extension and the design of a shop front.

As a result, the plans have been changed and the number of apartments reduced from 19 to 17, with the number of dormer windows cut from seven to three.

A council planning officer told the meeting the apartments would be short term rentals for visitors to the city.

Cllr Peter Kilbane said it was worrying to see the loss of a nightclub and called for the council to develop a strategy to protect cultural venues. He said:

• It does cause me some concern that we are losing yet another cultural venue in York.

  I’m not against change in the city centre or development. But to some people in York this was a significant cultural institution and they are disappearing.

  I think we need to get a policy to protect our cultural venues.
  

The plans were approved by a majority vote on Thursday.