Former Conservative club in Yorkshire set to be demolished for student flats

The block, which would be up to three-storeys high, is planned in Clarence Street, a stone’s throw from York St John University. The university has committed to taking on a long-term lease once the project is completed.

It would see the vacant Bootham and Monk Ward Conservative Club, which is made up of two nineteenth century houses on either side and a central 1960s building, knocked down.

The building is “boarded up and in a poor state of repair” according to the applicant, Clarence Street York Ltd, and the club has merged to form Heworth and Bootham Conservative Club, which re-opened last year following a £200,000 refurbishment.

The proposed block would comprise 34 student rooms, with six clusters of between four and six rooms, plus eight studios. The main access would be from Clarence Street, with a secondary access off Union Terrace.

A green roof is proposed above the single storey area and above the three-storey flat roofed part of the building. The ground floor accommodation would include a communal lounge and storage areas for bikes and bins.

York St John University said the block would help it fulfil its guarantee to all first year UK, EU and international students to provide accommodation within its own halls of residence.

“This new development will make an important contribution to addressing the shortage in the supply of well-located, high quality purpose-built accommodation,” the university added.

Council planners said the loss of the two historic houses on either side of the club was “regrettable”, but said refusing the application to save them was not justified.

The developer first proposed the scheme in 2019, but has since revised the design and scale of the building.

Councillors will decide whether or not to approve the scheme at a meeting of the planning committee on Monday, September 26.