Derelict building in Grimsby may finally have a future after complaints it was becoming an eyesore
The former Conservative club on Bargate has been empty since 2009
A Grimsby veterinary clinic is hoping to expand into the long disused former social club building next door to it for “urgently needed” space.
Demand for the animal healthcare services of Abbey Vet Centre has increased. Its main practice at 2 Augusta Street and a specialist hydrotherapy centre at 32 Bargate are in need of expansion.
Abbey Vet Centre bought last summer neighbouring 36 Bargate with this in mind. This used to be a Conservative Club and then a private members club.
But it has been empty since 2009 and is “an eyesore in
an otherwise well-maintained area of the town”, say CDC Architecture on behalf of the vet practice in the application.
Abbey Vet Centre’s plans for the conversion of 36 Bargate include on the ground floor three operating theatres, including a dedicated dental room, and up to six consultation rooms. One such room is also set aside to deal with eye-related issues, while another is marked alternatively for the euthanasia of poorly animals.
If approved, there will also be a dedicated cats and dogs examination room each, and a ward each for dogs, cats and exotic pets. Upstairs, there will be rooms for the treatment of animal eye disorders and “assorted recovery cages”. A former social club function room will be turned into a meeting room or lecture space.
Externally, the building will look little different from Bargate and Augusta Street to its past times in use. The major change in appearance will occur in the rear part of the site and so will only be visible to immediate neighbours and pet owners who visit.
The expansion will use the existing 32 car parking spaces at the building and does not propose extra. “Is is not anticipated that there will be any additional traffic, over and above the current traffic levels experienced at 2 Augusta Street,” CDC Architecture says. “The proposed development will enable traffic to be split between the two sites.”
The opening hours of the 36 Bargate proposed vet clinic will be 8am to 7pm, Monday to Friday. Weekend and emergency work will remain at Abbey Vet Centre’s existing facility in Augusta Street.
“The position of 36 Bargate is adjacent to their existing practice which is ideal both for their patients and staff,” continue CDC Architecture. “For example, should a seriously poorly animal arrive in a routine consultation, transfer to hospital accommodation with diagnostic equipment suitable to the needs of such a patient would be just a few yards rather than an uncomfortable transfer by road away.”
The long derelict site has been the cause of planning drama before. North East Lincolnshire Council turned down twice plans for it to become a Co-Op, the most recent rejection in March 2021.
Before that, Tesco Express plans for the Victorian mansion got turned down by the council too. For several years, the supermarket giant paid a lease understood to be around £50,000 a year for the empty site.
The view of the Highways Authority was a crucial factor in the Co-Op case – it had major traffic concerns, including the risk of head-on collisions. Refusal based on road safety grounds was recommended, and councillors followed this advice.
Highways has already had its say on the vet centre conversion. It has not objected to the application, but has requested that before development any new or altered vehicular access plans are submitted to and approved in writing by North East Lincolnshire Council.
The intention of Abbey Vets Centre to close the access point nearest to the junction with Bargate was also welcomed by highways. The veterinary practice is not limited to Grimsby. It also runs two smaller clinics in Immingham and Caistor.
Practice Principal Jacqueline Buck estimated last summer that any new facility at 36 Bargate would at the earliest be open by mid-2024.