A LANDMARK social club in York could be demolished to make way for a housing development and a cheaper replacement.

Proposals to knock down Burnholme Social Club and replace it with 28 houses and nine flats have been drawn up, with a decision set to be made by City of York Council in August.

RHW Developments Limited, which has submitted the plans for the Victorian Gothic-style building on Burnholme Drive, said the scheme would also include a new club and a children’s play area, with most local residents who took part in a consultation exercise backing the proposals and agreeing the site needed to be redeveloped.

If approved, the homes would be a mixture of two and three-bedroom houses alongside a block of two-bedroom flats.

A statement sent to the council by the developers’ agents, John Howlett Planning, said the replacement social club would include a concert room and sports bar, a snooker room and a lounge and family room, as well as 14 spaces for cars and nine for bikes.

A stained-glass window on the existing building would be removed and installed inside the new club.

“The phasing of the development could be such that the new clubhouse has to be erected prior to the existing building being demolished, in order that the council can be satisfied the community facility is retained,” said the report.

“The existing building has become very expensive for the club to maintain, to a point where it is now a significant drain on its resources and a burden to them.

“It does have some architectural and historic merit, but it is neither listed or in a conservation area.”

The firm said most residents supported a play area being included in the development, but some were concerned about whether it would attract antisocial behaviour.

In a submission to the council, North Yorkshire Police said the current design of the play area would mean security fencing or gates having to be considered “to ensure residents are not affected by nuisance behaviour”.