Apartments plan for ex-working men's club approved

High Harrogate Working Men’s Club moved to Devonshire Place in 1901

A former working men's club is to be converted into apartments after plans to renovate and retain its bar were abandoned.

The three-storey building in Devonshire Place, Harrogate, was home to the High Harrogate Working Men’s Club from 1901 until its closure in 2023.

A recent application to create six apartments on the first and second floor and a bar and exercise space on the ground floor was approved in 2022.

However, the scheme was judged to be too costly and, following a further application, North Yorkshire Council has now approved plans for the whole building to be converted in eight flats.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service by the middle of the 20th century the club had 682 members, including 200 women.

However, a change in drinking habits gradually made the venue financially unviable.

Applications in 2018 and 2022 sought to convert other parts of the building into six apartments, with a recent application promising to preserve the bar area and rename the WMC building the High Harrogate Bar and Lounge.

Those plans never came to fruition as it was judged that the renovation would cost £750,000, which put off potential buyers and tenants.

Planning documents stated interested parties were "deterred by the costs of the refurbishment" with potential buyers "unconvinced" the area warranted another new bar.

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