Flats plan approved for former Ramsgate Working Men’s Club

The Chatham Place properties will be converted to flats

The former Ramsgate Working Men’s Club in Chatham Place will be converted into flats.

Thanet District Council has granted permission for the conversion of 3-4 Chatham Place into eight flats.

The club was in use for 102 years until its closure in April 2016.

The terraced buildings and railings, built in the 1780s, have Grade 2 listing and are in the Ramsgate Conservation Area.

Architect Corstorphine and Wright has amended the application, reducing it from 10 flats to 8. In a design statement they say: “The use of this redundant community facility for residential use is entirely sustainable. Working men’s clubs on a whole have become less integral in society and less popular in recent years due to the demographic of towns and cities changing.

“Historically, the Ramsgate working men’s club would have been used as a social venue for working class men and women. However today, it is no longer expected that inhabitants of a town will work in close vicinities to their homes.

“Many inhabitants will be likely commuters to Ashford and London, as Ramsgate benefits from its link to the high speed south eastern rail network, and thus is a popular location for commuters to settle.

“Our site is well located within the town, Chatham Place is a desirable street, and is only 0.5miles away from the train station. As such, we anticipate our development in this building would very much appeal to commuters, and therefore is much more sustainable as a place of residence than a social club; especially as the historic value of the building fabric can be restored and retained in this use.

“Number 3 and 4 have been maintained as separate properties on the upper floors and therefore the internal accommodation is arranged as such; in clusters of two or three rooms, and these clusters lend themselves to one and two bed flat accommodation very naturally.”

The external appearance of the buildings will be maintained but part of the modern extension will be removed.