A former Whitby ironmongers will be converted into a pub and holiday flats after plans were approved by North Yorkshire Council.
The application by the owners of Valhalla York – a public house in York – have been given permission to convert the building at 6 Grape Lane into a pub, holiday let, and residential flats.
The decision comes despite numerous objections from locals who said that the Grade II listed property should not be converted because of an “overproliferation of pubs in Whitby”.
The first and second floors will become three one-bedroom flats and a two-bedroom holiday accommodation will be on the third floor.
Seven public comments were submitted, all of which objected to the proposal.
One local said the pub would have a “detrimental impact on the amenity of neighbours and the capacity of services and infrastructure”.
Another objector said: “Whitby has a large number of pubs and bars, and the addition of another one is unnecessary – this could exacerbate issues with public safety and anti-social behaviour.”
Planning officers said that the use “extends beyond that of a micropub as was initially described” and that “although the number of seated covers shown within the basement and ground floor area is 62, this is not considered excessive for a public house generally”.
A council report stated that “Grape Lane is ultimately a public street, where pedestrians can freely pass – and do so already to a high level, and the licensing team would require assurances that patrons congregating outside the premises is discouraged”.
According to planners, the application was amended to “reduce the scale, activity, opening hours and noise disturbance to neighbouring properties”.
A condition was also set stating that “there shall be no use or access of the external seating area by customers at any time”.
The council decreed that the pub would be permitted to have opening hours of 11am to 11pm from Sunday-Friday, and 11am to 11.30pm on Saturdays.
Vincent Roberts and Matthew Beddingham, co-owners and founders of Valhalla York recently said: “Valhalla York has been a real success story and we always dreamed of one day having another venue.
“We love the town, its people, its history and feel of the place and it’ll be a very similar recipe to what makes Valhalla York tick but not quite the same.”
They said they had “every hope to be opening the doors for summer 2026”.
Planning officers concluded that the proposed uses were appropriate for Whitby town centre and the development was approved subject to conditions.
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