A former country club based in Durham City may be converted into flats. A planning application has been submitted to turn the grade-two-listed building that housed Durham Country Club into 12 apartments.
Durham Country Club closed down in 2016 because people were using its facilities less and less. Now plans have been put forward to remodel the interior of the 19th century Old Elvet building. Seven flats would be created in the main three-storey part of the structure along with two flats in the former billiard room plus another three in the building’s west wing.
The application promises that developers will retain certain original features of the building such as cooking ranges, cupboards and ventilators.
The former country club had close ties to the Durham Light Infantry. The club also put on crown court judges’ lunches and provided hospitality to high sheriffs.
The founders of Durham Country Club were a consortium of MPS, aristocrats and business people. Among them were the Marquis of Londonderry, the Earl of Durham, a knight of the realm and a priest.
Durham Country Club closed its doors at the beginning of 2016 and an auction was held in May to sell off its contents. Items under the hammer included dinner services and glassware, prints of hunting scenes and British royals, and a choir bench that had found its way to the club from Durham Cathedral.
It is not, however, a certainty that the building’s conversion will go ahead. The Environment Agency has objected to the plans due to a risk of flooding. The building is located in a flood zone area with a medium risk and the Environment Agency says that a flood risk assessment has not been undertaken.
The Agency has said that it will withdraw its objection if an assessment is conducted which shows that the building itself is safe and that the proposed development would not increase the likelihood of flooding elsewhere.
