Move to stop flats plan for historic pub may save venue

A DECISION not to let developers convert the upper floors of a 121-year-old pub into flats could save the venue, campaigners have claimed.

York Council’s planning department has rejected proposals to transform the upper floors of The Jubilee on Balfour Street into four flats, reducing the space available for drinkers.

Campaigners say that move – which followed a failed bid to convert the entire pub into housing – would have been a death-knell for the venue.

Nick Love, a member of the Campaign for Real Ale in York, said losing the large function rooms would have hit the pub’s viability and reduced its use for the community.

He welcomed the planner’s move, and said he and other campaigners feared the scheme could have been a “Trojan horse” leading to the end of the pub.

“We were glad they wanted to retain the pub, but we didn’t think it would be viable with a hugely reduced space,” Mr Love added.

He said there are now two potential purchasers, and the pub could thrive serving the existing community and the new estate on the neighbouring York Central site.

The Jubilee opened in 1897 and was named for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. It was sold by its former owners, Enterprise Inns, to Wakefield based Tri-Core developments in 2016. The pub has been closed since 2016.