WORK is to start soon on the post-flood refurbishment of a riverside restaurant in central York - while a nearby shop and recording studio have reopened following repairs and renovation.
Loch Fyne restaurant in Fossgate was badly hit by the Boxing Day flooding from the adjacent River Foss, but planning documents now show the owners are planning to refurbish and spruce up the Grade II listed 19th-century building before reopening later this year.
A planning application has been submitted, and a spokesman for the parent company said they hoped to have the restaurant open by the summer - or before the end of 2016 at the latest.
The owners Greene King Pub Company have submitted a listed building planning application for a "refurbishment to trade areas" with improvements to the customer toilets, back of house areas, a new glass entrance hall, and redecoration throughout.
Walmgate during the floods
The building used to be an ironmongers, and the bar area retains 19th-century counters and drawer stacks. Although the owners want to remove some of the original fittings, the planning documents say they will keep hold of and carefully store any pieces removed so they could be reinstated at any point.
Meanwhile, the Hairy Fig shop in Fossgate, above, has reopened this week, after weeks of closure and a relocation to Via Vecchia bakery in Shambles.
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And Melrose Yard Studios on Walmgate, which was forced to close after rising water destroyed valuable recording equipment and ruined wooden flooring, carpets and soundproofed walls, has also reopened.
The damage had occurred less than a week after Sam Holdstock and business partner Iain Bolton completed the purchase of the building, supported by York-based Langleys Solicitors.
The damage cost more than £20,000 to repair but a crowd-funding page raised more than £4,500 to help get the business back on its feet.
Sam said: “We have been overwhelmed by the support from friends, customers and family who have come along to help us or pledged money. We were devastated by the damage, but the aftermath has brought the best out in human nature.”
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