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Plans submitted for vacant upper floors of 77-79 Goodramgate

77-79 Goodramgate, York, from the street. A three storey painted brick building with white timber sash windows to the upper floors, the Wagamama restaurant on the ground floor with its dark grey shopfront and hanging sign, and the brick frontage of A.A. Braithwaite jeweller to the right.

Property investment and development specialist Helmsley Group has submitted applications for planning permission and listed building consent to City of York Council to convert the vacant upper floors of 77-79 Goodramgate, York, into two duplex apartments.

The applications are made on behalf of Trinity Syndicate, the Helmsley Group syndicate that owns the building as part of a wider holding on Goodramgate and Kings Square. Wagamama and Café Nero trade from the ground floor.

The scheme is one of a number of recent upper floor residential conversions Helmsley Group has in planning in York city centre.

A Grade II listed building opposite the Old White Swan

77 Goodramgate is Grade II listed. It dates from the mid 18th century, was built as a house, and was extended in the early 19th century and again in the 20th century. It stands opposite the Grade II listed Old White Swan, close to Our Lady's Row, York's oldest surviving row of houses, built in 1316.

The upper floors have stood empty for a number of years and are in a mixed state of repair. A good deal of the historic fabric survives, including the central timber staircase, lath and plaster ceilings, original architraves and skirtings, and a shaped Dutch-style brick gable to the rear.

Each apartment is arranged over two floors, with an open plan living area, a kitchenette and en-suite bathrooms.

Max Reeves, development director at Helmsley Group, said: "These floors have been empty for years, and buildings like this deteriorate when nobody lives in them. Putting people back into the upper floors is the most reliable way to look after them.

"These upper floors are full of character, with the Minster and the Shambles a short walk away. That combination is hard to replicate in new build, and it makes for fantastic apartments.

"Listed conversions are slow, and the heritage constraints shape almost every decision so that is where we start when considering how to approach these schemes.

"Goodramgate is one of several upper floor schemes we have in planning across the centre of York. There is a good deal of empty space above the city's shops, and we see a real opportunity to bring it back into use as homes."

Helmsley Group's syndicated property investments are Unregulated Collective Investment Schemes and are suitable only for professional clients, certified high net worth individuals and certified sophisticated investors. Helmsley Securities Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under firm reference number 665743. This article is published for information only. It is not an invitation or inducement to invest, and it is not advice. Property values and rental income can fall as well as rise.

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