Disused Yorkshire water tower could be converted into 'modern-style' home with log cabin extension

Plans lodged with York Council would see the Askham Richard Water Tower, off Stock Hill Lane south of York Road, converted into a three-bedroom home.

Plans drawn up by Architectural Services York stated the conversion would see some of the original openings of the water tower reinstated to make them into bedroom windows.

It comes after the building, which is also known as the Bilbrough Water Tower, was sold at auction for £50,000 last year. The site is also home to a York Local TV mast.

The conversion which is currently proposed has been scaled back from earlier plans lodged with the council. Previous plans for a two-storey log cabin-style extension were submitted in April but withdrawn in June.

The current plans would see a bedroom, bathroom, lounge and kitchen built in the single-storey extension which would connect to a bedroom on the ground floor of the tower.

A staircase on the inside of the tower would take occupants up to a bedroom on the first floor. A hatch in the ceiling of the first floor bedroom would provide access to loft space at the top of the structure.

The extension would be clad in wood and circular in design, taking cues from the water tower. The plans include a double driveway at the front of the property with room for other parking spaces on the site.

Plans stated there was good access to local facilities and to the nearby A64, along with good public transport links.

They stated: “The proposed extension is a bespoke modern-style log cabin faced with wood cladding or Roundwood. The roof will be standing seam and the fenestration in a grey to blend in with the wood as it softens over the years.”