Kiko’s, Pontefract: ‘Eyesore’ nightclub site to be sold for apartments scheme

The former a nightclub building is to be sold to make way for apartments after councillors gave the go-ahead to the project.

Wakefield Council’s cabinet members agreed to sell to the Kiko’s site, on Stuart Road, in the hope new town centre gateway will be created.

The derelict property and surrounding land has been vacant since 2016 and is owned by the authority.

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Senior councillors approved proposals to sell the site to a neighbouring business owner at “less than best value”.

The former Kiko\'s nightclub in Pontefract town centre is to be sold off by Wakefield Council to make way for housing.The former Kiko\'s nightclub in Pontefract town centre is to be sold off by Wakefield Council to make way for housing.
The former Kiko\'s nightclub in Pontefract town centre is to be sold off by Wakefield Council to make way for housing.

Previous attempts to dispose of the site, including a plan to sell it to Wakefield District Housing to build affordable homes, failed.

Council leader Denise Jeffery told a meeting she hoped the new homes would complement a similar residential scheme nearby at the old Pontefract fire station site.

She added: “We have been trying to sort this site out for many years and it’s a gateway into Pontefract.

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“The fire station site has made a real difference and brought fabulous new homes in there.

“But the Kiko’s site really lets it down. So I think it’s really good that we are moving forward on this.”

Cabinet member Hannah Appleyard, who represents Pontefract North ward, said: “I think the community in Pontefract will be so pleased to see this at a site that is in such a prominent position on your way into town.

“It has been a bit of an eyesore for the last eight years or so.”

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A report said the new development could include the construction of a five-storey building.

It added: “It would need to be architecturally iconic given its prominent location.”

Local councillors and regeneration officers supported the scheme, subject to a buy back clause if the site was not demolished or developed.

Recommending the sale, the report says: “It will also provide the residents and visitors to Pontefract with a more welcoming and safer feel to their town and neighbourhoods.

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“It will allow the creation of decent, affordable housing that meets the needs of the community while also further encouraging investment and opportunity in the surrounding areas.”

Kiko’s was at the heart of Pontefract’s nightlife for decades after opening in the early 1970s as a Polynesian style nightclub with fake palm trees.

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