A CAFÉ owner in York has hit out at the council after losing out on a building he planned to turn into a new luxury cocktail bar.

Richard Potter, owner of the Perky Peacock and Quirky Café, both at Lendal Bridge, had hoped to convert The Hub in Wellington Row, opposite the Aviva building, into a luxury cocktail bar, in a joint venture with an anonymous partner.

Richard said: "I know it's a great location, it's at the gateway to the city.

"We've taken an old building for the Quirky (café) and developed it into a place that can sit 30 people.

"This new site would've created about 20 jobs, and had space for over 100 customers at a time."

The Hub has been vacant for a couple of years. Richard and his partner were hoping to submit a planning application before City of York Council, which owns the building, informed them it would be using it for a public health initiative.

York Press: The Hub, Wellington RowThe Hub, Wellington Row (Image: Harry Booth)

Richard said: "That's an old Victorian sub station, it's got huge potential.

"It's like turning Tower Bridge into an office block."

Richard said that before Christmas he had a different partner interested in the site and they were working with the council - but the initial partner subsequently dropped out.

When the new partner - who also owns a business in York - showed an interest the council said it had chosen to keep the site for themselves, Richard said.

He said: "Small businesses struggle enough as it is without having to compete against local governments.

"The hospitality business is really difficult so we have to use every opportunity."

With two businesses on the station side of Lendal Bridge, Richard was hoping that the new bar would capitalise on the amount of footfall that comes from visitors leaving the station.

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He said: "There's some great bars in the city but not as much over here.

"This side of the river doesn't have that attraction yet."

City of York Council's head of property, Nick Collins, said: "The Hub building is City of York Council (CYC) owned, and we are in the discussion and planning stages of a project and assessing the suitability of its use for a public health initiative which would be delivered by third sector partners.

"This external grant-funded project requires a standalone building, and so this will also result in generating an income for a CYC building that has been unused over a recent period."

The council's plans are set to be discussed by a council committee on March 13. The hub is set to be operated by The Environment Agency.