Mansion that housed nightclub to become hotel

Batchwood Hall was built in 1874 for Edmund Beckett, who co-designed Big Ben's clock

Plans have been granted to turn a Victorian mansion that recently housed a high-profile nightclub into a luxury hotel and restaurant.

Batchwood Hall, in St Albans, was built in 1874 for Edmund Beckett, who co-designed Big Ben's clock and restored St Albans Cathedral.

Club Batchwood launched in the 1980s, drawing huge crowds and stars such as Kanye West.

St Albans City & District Council, which owns the hall, has agreed a 35-year lease with Oakman Group which will invest millions of pounds in refurbishing the building.

DJ Matt Jam Lamont played at a Christmas club night at Batchwood

The manor house was also used as a Covid-19 vaccination centre during the pandemic after the nightclub's leaseholders left in 2020.

In 1935, a golf course was built in the grounds and the site has been used as a function hall and wedding venue in the past.

Oakman Group’s plans will turn it into a hotel, wedding and function venue with a bar and a restaurant.

Most people locally know Batchwood Hall as a nightclub which ran from the 1980s until 2020

The council said it was "positive and proactive" about the application and believed the development would “improve the economic, social and environmental conditions of the district".

The authority said it would support tourism and "the rural economy" as well as helping to "ensure the long-term retention of this Victorian hall".

The hall was used as a vaccination centre during the pandemic