A landmark pub and music venue in York has protected status again.
The Victoria Vaults was designated as an asset of community value (ACV) by City of York Council yesterday (Tuesday).
The venue on Nunnery Lane had been taken off the ACV list last year. But new evidence from York Camra (the Campaign for Real Ale) and others helped it regain the important status.
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.
And the Vaults’ supporters say there are a number of serious parties wanting to reopen it as a live music pub.
The Victoria Vaults closed in October 2024. Since then the building has been beset by planning wrangles which saw a plan to turn the pub into a cafe refused, leading to the developer appealing against the refusal.
The City of York Council decision session yesterday heard that there were a number of people wanting to reopen the pub and run it as a going concern.
But the pub’s owner – The Victoria Vaults (York) Ltd – strongly objected to the bid for ACV status.
‘Serious interest’
One of the speakers at the meeting was Chris Sherrington, the co-founder of York Music Venue Network, which represents and protects the city’s grassroots music venues.
When the network was started in 2019, “York had six such dedicated music venues,” he said. “Today, we only have four. And once these spaces disappear, they’re very difficult to replace.”
He described the Victoria Vaults as “a dedicated grassroots music venue supporting local and touring artists with a national reputation and hosting over 125 cultural events each year”.
Chris added: “I personally spoken with five operators interested in returning the Victoria Vaults to venues under viable terms.
“Music venue properties and two others have also expressed serious interest in purchasing the building or supporting a community ownership route as well.”
Nabeel Hanif for the owners said that he’d heard there were parties interested in reopening the Vaults as a music pub “but nobody’s actually made any offers.
“It’s been on the market now for a full year for letting, no offers. We’re the only people that have bought this place and we’re trying to do something with it, but we seem to keep getting stopped at every angle.
“Also you’ve had your own independent surveyors look at this as well as ours. The building needs £250,000 spending on it.
“The people that have even spoke about it, they just they don’t have the funding. They’ve not shown any business plan. They’ve not shown anything whatsoever.”
Chris said this bill needn’t be an impediment to the pub reopening.
“We have direct experience of similar successful capital funding bids for creative spaces, and last year I worked with six venues who secured over £2 million between them for critical works, showing that this can be done if needed.
“And we’re not sure it’s needed in this case.”
Cllr Katie Lomas, the council’s executive member for finance, performance and major projects, told the meeting: “With five operators interested and two people interested enough to put in writing their interest for consideration today, I am persuaded that there is reasonable prospect of community use within the next five years.”
She granted ACV status to the Victoria Vaults.
Nick Love, pub protection officer for York Camra, also spoke at the meeting and expressed his delight after the decision was made.
“We are really pleased that the Victoria Vaults now has the official status of an asset of community value.
“Although this much loved music venue and public house is currently closed we have every reason to believe that it could be successful in the future under the right operator and the evidence presented and arguments made to the planning committee we believe convinced them of the same.”