What is happening with Venue 73: Planning bid goes in to turn landmark Calderdale venue once embroiled in legal war with The Ritz into a Starbucks

The Courier reported in April how EG On The Move Ltd were in the process of preparing a planning application for the redevelopment of Venue 73 on Bradford Road in Brighouse so that it could become a Starbucks.

When it was previously known as The Ritz Ballroom, the dance hall and leisure venue famously hit the headlines when the owner was contacted by lawyers from the Ritz Hotel in Piccadilly giving them just days to stop using the name and threatening legal action.

The planning application is for a drive-through coffee shop which would, according to the bid, create 24 jobs – 16 full-time and eight part-time.

A planning statement submitted with the application says the building has been empty since February 2020 and is suffering from substantial damp.

"It is not currently fit for purpose and therefore demolition or potentially a full refurbishment of the property is required,” says the statement.

The once-loved building has also become a magnet for yobs, it says.

"The site has been subject to anti-social behaviour and associated crime, with the local police force attending the site on a regular basis to resolve such matters,” says the statement.

"Despite efforts from the current owner to deter this behaviour - such as boarding up windows and doors and installing metal sheets - due to

the nature of the building being vacant, incidents of anti-social behaviour and crime occur at the site on a regular basis.”

If proposals include demolishing the current building and building a single-storey Starbucks in roughly the same place.

"The drive-through element will be located to the southern side of the building and users will be filtered through a one-way system around the site,” says the statement.

The planned opening hours are 6am until 11pm, seven days a week.

"Whilst we acknowledge the social and heritage value placed on the former Ritz Ballroom by the local community, we believe that the proposed development will deliver overriding social, economic and environmental benefits that should be welcomed and will generally ensure a much more visually attractive and inviting space for residents and those travelling to Brighouse for work or leisure, and indeed it has been proven that there is sufficient supply of other community facilities within the immediate vicinity,” says the statement.

"The development would see the redevelopment of a derelict site in a prominent location on the edge of the town centre of Brighouse, creating a community hub for residents but also serving passing motorists.”

When the building was listed for sale, it was described as a nightclub that could hold over 400 people and had “reputably the best sprung dance floor in the North of England”.

The building dates back to 1937 when it opened as a cinema – the first in Brighouse.

It closed in 1963 and reopened as a bingo hall in 1965 before being bought in 1981, when it was refurbished and converted to a dance hall.

Over the years it has popped up on our TV screens including during A Touch of Frost in 2003 and in an episode of Heartbeat back in 1992.