Ritz fire: Photos and video show massive blaze damage to treasured Calderdale building

As these photos and video show, what was known as The Ritz Ballroom in Brighouse has been devastated by the blaze that tore through it last night.

As reported by the Courier, police shut roads around the building on Bradford Road – which was renamed Venue 73 - as huge flames were seen at the back of the building.

This morning, there is still police tape cordoning off the building and Bonegate Road. Firefighters are also on the scene along with police.

The cause of the fire has not yet been announced.

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.

A planning application, which is still to be decided, was submitted earlier this year to redevelop the site so that it could become a drive-through Starbucks.

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

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

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

"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,” said 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.”

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.