Restaurant expansion approved for former Weymouth night club
Harvey's Bar and Kitchen say their expansion will create 20 new local jobs
Last updated 3rd Dec 2021
Approval has been given for a former Weymouth seafront nightclub is to have its dance floor removed – replacing it with restaurant space.
The building, once the Boombox which closed in 2018, is now trading as Harvey’s Bar and Kitchen – a name which dates back to the 18th century when the building was Harvey’s Library and Assembly Rooms. It has also been home in the past to the Royal Dorset Yacht Club and another nightclub.
Dorset Council has now agreed planning consent for the Grade 2 listed building to change the use of the basement and ground floor from a night club, to a restaurant.
The business says it will employ around 20 staff.
Said one of the application papers: “Maintaining the building in use will contribute to the prosperity of the local economy and continue the vitality of the town centre conservation area. The best way of securing the upkeep of historic buildings is to keep them in active use and economically viable if they are to survive.”
Weymouth town council had raised no objection to the changes.
The alternations now approved include improvements to the toilets and central south lobby, the retention of remaining flag stones in a passageway as a feature and replacing the current bar on the ground floor. The dance floor to the rear of the building is to be divided with stud walls to create a new kitchen, wash up area, office and dry storage room.
A Dorset Council planning officer report said there was a public benefit from the premises changing from a nightclub to a restaurant although questioned why a licence was needed until 3am, although no concerns about this had been raised by the council’s environmental health team.
The council report notes that there is a manager’s flat on the top floor of the building and adds that further alterations may be applied for to the upper floors of the building in the future.
It says that all the new walls are made of studwork which means they could be removed in the future should a different use for the building be found.