The next chapter for town’s landmark buildings

The properties which made up the hotel are now being used to ensure people with disabilities and learning difficulties can enjoy greater independence.

The site near Valley Gardens is part of the former Duchy of Lancaster Estate, which was developed in the late 1800s by the Pullan family. The properties at Belmont Road and St Mary’s Walk have been converted into 10 apartments.

Further modifications have been made to accommodate safety features including anti-slip flooring and automatic lighting. Living accommodation has been secured for support staff under a 25-year leasing agreement with Ubu, an organisation that provides support to adults with learning disabilities.

Ubu project manager, Julie Windress, said: “We really believe that people should have their own personalised support. We support a number of people in shared tenancies and registered residential support and wanted to give them the opportunity to develop further.”

The Pullan family’s links with the site date back to Victorian times. In 1886 Joseph Pullan, a stone mason, acquired a five-acre vacant plot of church land.

He entered into a 999-year lease at a rent of £225 per year. Mark Pullan, the managing director of Leeds-based development and construction firm J Pullan & Sons, is the great-great-grandson of Joseph Pullan.

Mr Pullan recalled yesterday: “He (Joseph) subsequently built a number of properties on the land.

“These were sold to meet the demand for housing at that time with the exception of five of the properties that did not sell, due to the economic downturn.

“After the 1914-18 war, with reduced demand for houses to rent, the houses at Belmont Road, together with another at St Mary’s Walk, were converted into the Kirksyde Hotel and managed by one of Joseph’s unmarried daughters.”

As Joseph Pullan had 13 children the hotel formed an ideal venue for family gatherings at Christmas, a tradition that continued until it closed in the late 1950s when is was converted into some 14 small flats.

Mr Pullan added: “The latest development should secure the building’s future into its second century.”