Back to the future for Con Club as now its iconic front will remain
Developers return to original plans after building was granted listed status by Historic England
New plans have been submitted to allow Scarborough’s iconic Constitution Club to keeps its front when it becomes a Premier Inn.
Developers were given permission to demolish the hotel to make way for the 80-bedroom extension to the hotel but work was dramatically halted when the Victorian Society successfully got the building listed status.
Now, it has gone back to the drawing board with new plans registered with the council that would see the front of the building retained, with the roof raised by one extra storey to accommodate the hotel extension.
The scheme is similar to the first set of drawings that were approved last year.
In the application it states: “The building was stripped and partially demolished, following a successful planning application.
“Whilst the demolition works were under way Historic England listed the building. It is a fine example of a minor civic Victorian building but shows signs of neglect and poor repair.
“The frontage is impressive, in these days of less well detailed and more economical building styles and it contributes greatly to the street scene. Given the dilemma created by the listing and demolitions, Historic England liaised with the developer and considered a number of options which the architect put forward. This application represents the scheme that Historic England favoured.”
When the developer, Crown Properties (Scarborough) Ltd, was granted demolition approval in December it told Scarborough Borough Council’s planning committee that to retain the front of the building would have added £500,000 to the costs, meaning it was no longer viable. Work had already started to demolish the building and to build an extension to the existing Premier Inn in Falconers Road.
That work had to be halted when the listing was approved. Since then Premier Inn announced plans for a hotel at the North Bay water park.
HAVE YOUR SAY
+ DO YOU THINK THE TOWN NEEDS THE HOTEL EXTENSION? Email: newsdesk@jpress.co.uk www.thescarboroughnews.co.uk