LEGAL experts are to be consulted about plans to demolish a York working men's club and replace it with flats.

Members of City of York Council want to investigate whether they can object to the proposals for the Promenade WMC, in St Benedicts Road, on the grounds that it is a community facility.

Developer Guildford Construc-tion wants to erect 12 flats on the site of the 100-year-old club. An earlier plan would have seen ten flats and a new, smaller club being built.

At a meeting of the city centre planning committee last night, members agreed to defer any decision on the site's future for legal advice.

Coun David Evans said he felt the club was a community facility, although it was privately owned, because the premises were available for private hire for neighbourhood groups.

Coun Derek Smallwood said: "There is a dispute here on whether it is a community facility or not and to what extent we can argue that it is a community facility if it is not being used as one.

"We need legal advice on whether we can defend it in this way in line with the local plan. We need clarification."

The deferral decision is the latest step in a lengthy wrangle over the club's future, which began in November 2002 when its members teamed up with developer John Guildford to safeguard its future.

But a disagreement over the provision of a flat for the club steward led to new plans which would see the club demolished.

Mr Guildford said today that legal decisions on whether the club was a public amenity were a matter for councillors.

Club trustee and member Maurice Bridge said the club had always been a community facility.

"To us, it's a public amenity. For the old members, it's their lifeline," he said.

"The council has used it on several occasions. We do hire it out for line dancing and different things."

Club secretary Barbara Johnson said she was pleased that councillors had deferred the plans for legal advice.

Updated: 13:46 Friday, July 02, 2004