Bar revamp is back on (From York Press)

Bar revamp is back on

7:06pm Wednesday 12th December 2007

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AN HISTORIC bar and hotel in York city centre has prepared fresh plans for a huge restoration project.

The Judges Lodgings in Lendal wants to rearrange the layout of its bars and dining areas, make the building wheelchair accessible, and convert the current 14-bedroom hotel into luxury apartments.

If the plans get the go-ahead, there will be new bars and improvements to the existing outdoor terrace.

Proposals for the refurbishment were first submitted to City of York Council in the summer of last year, but works have been delayed. Management have now amended the plans and submitted a fresh application to the council.

A statement submitted with the application said: "The main reasons for the changes are socioeconomic. The hotel element has not been economically viable for quite a few years, access and parking is limited and the room numbers provide only a small turnover with high staff costs.

"The public bar area has, over the years, improved turnover and it is this element together with changes to allow for private functions with accommodation changes to form serviced apartments that our client feels will allow the building to operate successfully."

Peter O'Toole, managing director of Judges Lodgings Limited, was unavailable for comment yesterday. But when the first set of £6.5 million plans were tabled last year, he said they would create an "oasis" in the heart of York.

He said the change from hotel rooms to self-contained apartments would allow visitors to enjoy the Judges Lodgings as it would have been in its heyday, and would provide a unique attraction for the city.

The building was constructed in around 1720 as a doctor's house, and gained its current name in 1806. It was used as private accommodation for judges from 1840 until the 1960s, before being converted into a hotel and restaurant in 1979.

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