Former Harrogate strip club set to be flats under new plans
- Published
Kings Club caused "frequent issues" including drunk guests leaving late into the night, excessive noise and anti-social behaviour, planning documents state
A former strip club in Harrogate will be converted into 14 flats if plans submitted to the council are approved.
Kings Club, a 200-capacity venue on Oxford Street, has remained shut since it closed during the pandemic in 2020.
Documents submitted to North Yorkshire Council stated its adult entertainment use caused "frequent issues" including anti-social behaviour.
Developers said they hoped a major refurbishment would "bring it back to its former glory".
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the club was set out over two bar levels and included 25 strip booths as well as a large dancing stage with a pole.
The applicant had looked to rent the first and second floors to new club operators but it said demand for nightlife had deteriorated since the pandemic.
However, developers Foreward Investments LLP said if it was to remain as a nightclub it would need considerable investment to bring it up to "an acceptable standard".
The venue is in "a very prominent town centre location", an architect said
It said the adult venue generated "complaints of repeated problems with drunken guests leaving late into the night, from excessive noise to all manner of anti-social behaviour, through to damage to surrounding properties".
The applicants concluded that converting the upper floors to a selection of "high-quality" two-bedroom apartments was "the only viable economic use of the building".
In a submission to the council, architect James Robinson said the proposal would "have a significant net improvement to the surrounding area and economy over the existing strip club use".
"This is an important building, located in a very prominent town centre location, and its current use as adult entertainment is not fitting for the surrounding area," he added.
North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the plans at a later date.
Kings Club was run by businessman Paul Kinsey, who also ran the Viper Rooms and Moko Lounge nightclubs in Harrogate, but all three are now closed.
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