Roxy Ball Room games bar plans approved for Stonebow House

Roxy Ball Room, a place to book games such as bowling, pool and ping pong, has venues in Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester and will soon be opening at Stonebow House in York.

At a licensing hearing at the City of York Council offices on September 11 concerns were raised by members of the public about staff training, noise and bins being left out attracting pests.

However, fears were addressed by the managing company Roxy Leisure’s representatives, CEO Matt Jones and managing director Ben Warren, and a set of conditions were put in place in an attempt to satisfy all parties.

Mr Jones said: “The occupant that operated before us was a nightclub.

“Nightclubs operate differently to how we do.

“They tend to fuel people with as much alcohol as possible.”

Stonebow House, York

He added: “I can assure you we are much better operators and have run much better management teams.

“We care.”

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Residents near to where to bar will be built expressed concerns about drunk people in the area, anti-social behaviour, and that it will add noise and disturbances.

But Mr Warren said: “We frequent places for a reason,” adding: “Predominantly people come here to game [and not drink].”

Julia Weston, a St Saviourgate resident speaking on behalf of 16 others who live on the street opposite Stonegate House, said: “St Saviourgate was built in the early 1700s.

“My house was built in 1730 and it’s grade II* listed.

“It’s one notch down from Castle Howard.

“You’re not allowed to touch anything.

“You’re not allowed to put secondary glazing in, you can’t insulate anything, you literally cannot touch the fabric of the house.

“And what this means is that we have single glazed sash windows and any noise outside the house carries inside.

“So if a taxi pulls up outside our house and the driver is on the phone, we can hear the full extent of the conversation.”

How the interior of The Roxy is set to look. Picture: Planning documents

Martina Weitsch, vice chair of York Green Party, said: “We don’t want to come across as the anti-fun party.

“We think that having fun, having a party and enjoying life is important.

“But there is a time and a place for that and it has to consider the impact it has on the people who live in the vicinity.

“Roxy Leisure markets itself as ‘bringing the playground to the bar’ and as ‘being the home of booze and balls’.”

She added: “The strapline projects a drinking culture, in my view, and it has a little bit of an aggressive undertone I think.

“I don’t think the double meaning of balls in the strapline is entirely accidental.”

The application was approved with conditions including a 400-person maximum capacity, bottle and glass collecting only between 8am and 8pm and to circulate the details of the duty manager and area manager to nearby residents every six months.

Roxy Leisure was asked to keep up its level of engagement with residents.