Ambitious plans to revamp pub are revised to enhance Art Deco heritage

Ambitious multimillion pound plans to revamp the run-down former Yates Wine Lodge on Blackpool promenade have undergone a design change so the new project will more closely match the original building.

Ambitious multimillion pound plans to revamp the run-down former Yates Wine Lodge on Blackpool promenade have undergone a design change so the new project will more closely match the original building.

The empty public bar, at 407-411 Promenade in South Shore, is a locally listed Art Deco building which has previously been one of the resort’s most popular bars for decades.

Yates Bar, as it was also known, closed its doors to the public on March 19 2022 and since then the building has fallen into disrepair.

Now owner Raghbir Singh Basrai is working with architects to completely regenerate the building and get it opened once again, including a hotel and restaurant element.

A full planning application has been lodged with Blackpool Council, seeking permission to change the use of the building from a drinking establishment with food provision to a drinking establishment with expanded food provision and hotel, with ancillary restaurant and event space.

However, the original plans for the building have been scaled down and revised to enhance the building’s much-admired Art Deco heritage.

A Heritage Design Review, added to the planning portal last month,  outlines how the plans have now been revised to make them “acceptable in terms of impact upon the historic environment”..

The review, prepared by Ian Rowan Heritage, noted that it was originally proposed to extend the rear of the premises to the east at three storeys, and this would add a second storey atop the 1st floor on the front, (original), section of the building.

The review stated : “A pre-application request was made to the LPA (local planning authority) in 2023 for a larger scheme of redevelopment, and the Council responded that the scheme was inappropriate, and as such a design review has been undertaken to arrive at a proposal that is more appropriate to a non-designated heritage asset.

“After careful consideration of the pre-application comments received from the LPA on the previous scheme, the proposal has been amended in line with these comments and is now considered to be acceptable in terms of impact upon the historic environment. “

After the size and scale was considered to be of a larger scale to surrounding properties, the following amendment were made:

• 3 rd storey has been removed from the proposal;

• 2nd storey is set back from the frontage;

• Proposal now sits at a similar level to its neighbours.

• Rear elevation has been reduced in height and depth so that it sits within the confines of the site and not at the back of pavement. Art Deco features to remain visually dominant. • Proposed materials palette for new elements is of a contemporary nature;

• The original front and much of the side elevations will be retained as render and repainted. To the rear of the building and the extension, the new materials palette will help the original Art Deco elements of the building stand out and retain their architectural and aesthetic value;

• Setting back the 2nd storey extension and removing the 3rd storey from the proposal altogether will retain the prominence of the Art Deco style, including the tower and fin to the front which will retain their architectural prominence. Alterations to the front elevation and boundary treatment to reflect the original design including building line.

• The form of the existing building is retained and later additions are proposed to be removed. The elevation has undergone some change over time and proposed change has been kept to a minimum.

Planning consultants PWA Planning, in a planning statement for the applicants, acknowledged the changes and said: “This development will breathe new life into the former Yates Wine Lodge, a locally listed building on Blackpool’s seafront, transforming a currently vacant and deteriorating structure into a vibrant mixed-use venue.

“The proposed redevelopment will preserve the building’s unique Art Deco heritage, enhancing both its aesthetic value and its role in Blackpool’s thriving tourism sector. “

The application is pending a decision.