Plans have been submitted for a new restaurant, bar and microbrewery on the site of the former Altrincham Conservative Working Men’s Club.
David Vanderhook, who already owns The George Charles pub in Didsbury and Lime bar at Salford Quays, has applied for planning permission to transform the currently disused Victorian building on Greenwood Street in a move which could create up to 40 full time and part time jobs.
The plans detail a complete overhaul of the Italianate-style building, which dates back to 1887 and lies within the Old Marketplace Conservation Area.
It was originally put up for sale for £300,000 back in 2014, but it’s understood that after a fierce bidding war the building eventually went for much more. The area around the rejuvenated Market House – just yards from the former working men’s club – is now considered by many to be the heart of Altrincham’s eating out district.
The brief for Altrincham-based architects Project 3 is to “create a family friendly restaurant and bar incorporating a small microbrewery and alfresco dining to the street front”.
The application adds that the “current private and introverted nature of the existing building is to be subtlety modified to create an active and animated street frontage”.
The removal of the suspended ceiling will open up the interior space to steel rood trusses and show the “impressive volume of the hall”, while an open kitchen will “add theatre and activity to the space”.
The main ground floor hall – which currently houses a lobby, members’ bar, function room with games area and changing room – will form the bulk of the dining space.
Upstairs, the former club steward’s flat, comprising three bedrooms, a lounge, kitchen and bathroom, would be converted into a private dining and function room.
Overall, there would be space for 154 internal covers over two floors, and up to 80 alfresco covers outside on Greenwood Street.
It’s proposed that closing hours will be til 11pm from Sunday to Thursday, and opening until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
The plans will be considered by Trafford Council over the summer.
