AT LAST the controversial former chapel at Clifton Park, which has been empty and vacant for more than ten years, is being refurbished into offices by its new owners, The Chapel Venture.

An earlier plan to demolish the 1875 building in favour of a new office block was scuppered by protests from nearby residents, but this £350,000 revamp is a compromise.

York planners accepted the revised scheme on the promise that it would keep "as much of the architectural detail of the chapel as commercially possible".

The project is the final part of the development jigsaw on Clifton Park, the site of a former hospital, which has been transformed into a mixed development of offices, residential and leisure uses.

The 5,500 sq ft building was bought by Persimmon Homes and developers Henry Lax Ltd on the closure of the hospital seven years ago.

But while the two organisations concentrated on building 103 homes and the refurbishment of hospital buildings plus commercial developments on Clifton Park such as the Holiday Inn Express and the Dormouse pub, the chapel remained empty.

Then two unnamed individuals who formed the Chapel Venture bought the open-plan premises for £200,000 and as work on the refurbishment begins, so does the marketing of what will be a high-tech communications office with on site parking in a spectacular location.

By the time it is ready for occupation in mid-October, the space within will have been converted from one open plan area into two storeys of modern offices, but its stained glass window will be retained along with plaster work on the walls of one of the two conference rooms.

Chartered surveyor John Reeves of The Helmsley Group, which is co-ordinating the project, said: "We are delighted that at last this refurbishment is to take place.

"We believe the completed building will be an example of what can be done with an old building to give it new life; all we need now is a discerning occupier!"

Richard Flanagan of DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, the letting/selling agents on site, predicted that not only would the offices attract a great deal of interest "but also add to the prestigious reputation that Clifton Park has so far received".