A threatened York pub and live music venue could take a major step towards securing its future next week.
Councillors are to consider a fresh bid to give the Victoria Vaults on Nunnery Lane protected status.
The York Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), is asking City of York Council to list the closed pub as an asset of community value (ACV). This aims to give added protection against redevelopment.
York Camra says several interested parties are interested in reopening the Vaults as a pub and live music venue.
The application represents the latest twist in a long-running battle over the site’s future.
As reported by YorkMix, hopes were previously raised that the threatened venue could return from the dead after gaining ACV status before, though it was subsequently removed from the council register late last year.
Planning wrangles over the building have also seen a plan to turn the pub into a cafe refused, leading to the developer appealing against the refusal.
If approved, the ACV listing means that should the owners decide to sell the building, local community groups will be granted a six-week window to register an interest and up to six months to prepare a competitive bid to buy it.
While listing does not force the owner to sell to a community group or restrict the sale price, it buys vital time for grassroots efforts to raise funds.
National significance
Council officers have recommended that the ACV nomination is approved at a combined executive member decision session next Tuesday (11 August).
The report states: “The premises were not part of a pub chain but an independent venue for new and upcoming musical artists holding enough people to make gigs financially viable.
“The premises hosted over 150 gigs a year encompassing a diverse range of musical genres.”
In its application, York Camra said the Vaults’ “significance to the cultural life of the city was acknowledged both nationally and locally”.
“It was not just a pub that did music – as has been wrongly characterised – it was a credible music venue and was treated as such by the many bands that played there and music fans that frequented it.
“People went specifically to go to gigs – not just for a drink and if music happened to be on then all the better.”
It adds: “There are numerous examples in York of lost community venues such as The Jubilee and The Mitre, that have fallen prey to developers who care little for the social and cultural benefits that such institutions bring to local neighbourhoods and The Victoria Vaults should be protected from going the same way.”
York Camra says there are a number of “knowledgeable and credible” parties interested in reopening the Victoria Vaults, including:
- a consortium that includes music experts, who have detailed knowledge of how the venue was previously mismanaged and have undertaken viewings of the property
- a group that has expressed interest previously regarding the building as an arts venue
- an owner of another music venue in the city
- and “most significantly one of the most credible experts in the running of music venues – The Music Venues Trust”.
Strong objection
However, the pub’s owner – The Victoria Vaults (York) Ltd – has mounted a strong objection. The developer has previously claimed that returning the Victoria Vaults to community use is unrealistic.
It says he venue requires around £250,000 in capital works to reinstate, and claim the site is commercially unviable as a pub.
The owner also argues that agreeing “a duplicate nomination from the same nominating body following conclusion that a previous nomination was invalid, is an abuse of process”.
The final decision will be made by the combined executive member decision session on Tuesday, 11 August.