A NEW restaurant and café bar in Hull's Princes Avenue has been given the go-ahead.
It will see the last surviving Victorian cottages on the street being converted into a new dining complex, with an extension being built at the rear of the two properties.
Originally thought to be connected to the former Botanic railway station, they were previously used as temporary accommodation by social services.
Some conservation campaigners had called for the plans to be rejected by city councillors after a previous change of use application was turned down amid concerns over its design.
But revised proposals won over planning committee councillors.
Project architect Dave Ettridge said: "We have taken the comments about the previous design onboard and reduced the size of the extension.
"This will be a quality restaurant and café bar. It is something my client has been looking to do for at least ten years."
Mr Ettridge said the proposed rear extension would only be visible through the forecourt of an adjacent petrol station and would be partly hidden by an existing tree. The development is the brainchild of John Francis and John Palmer, the business partners behind the Pozition nightclub in the city centre.
Speaking at the committee, Councillor John Fareham said he was prepared to move approval on the basis of the revised design, although he was conscious it would create yet another nighttime venue in the area. He said: "I do not welcome the use but we have to live in the here and now."
As well as the design change, the new scheme also features 11 parking spaces at the rear of the site.
The planning permission allows the cafe bar and first-floor restaurant to open until 1am on weekdays and 2am on Saturdays.
A separate licensing application has yet to be heard. Despite the go-ahead, some councilors remained unconvinced.
Councillor Tom McVie said: "I was against the previous application and I am against this one because the design now is absurd.
"We are going to have the front of these old houses stuck onto a massive new link building. It's going to look ridiculous."
