Outrage in popular UK seaside town over plans to transform historic former ironmongers into Viking-themed bar
The cobbled charm of Whitby's Grape Lane, once steeped in seafaring history, is now the site of a brewing battle between tourists and townsfolk over the Norse-inspired drinking den.
A Grade-II listed 19th-century former ironmongers is set to be transformed into the latest outpost of Valhalla Ltd, whose themed ale bar in York boasts of 'mead aplenty' and 'rock 'n metal music day and night'.
Locals set to live in its shadow - across an 600-year-old thoroughfare just 12 feet wide - say they fear an invasion, not of longboats but of marauding visitors.
Gillian Blessed and her husband Keith, both 72, have lived opposite the proposed bar for 25 years and fear noise from the planned rock den could force them to sell-up.
She said: 'I just hope we don't have to move. I worry that the noise will force us out of our home. I know other people are already thinking of selling up because they can't face what is coming. They don't want to live next to a themed bar.
'I've got nothing against people making a living but they got to be considerate of us. From my door to theirs is only 12 feet. I don't want to have stag and hen parties rolling out onto the street.
'People are going to come out smoking and it'll go through my door and up into our flat, and I have asthma.
'My husband is not well and he's in bed by 9pm. If he doesn't get his rest, then he's going to be worse.
'Our house was built in 1640 - it's not built to repel noise. We have single-glazed windows, so the noise from the bar will bounce straight in.
'It's just not something Whitby needs, is it? There's not a shortage of places to go for a drink.'
The controversial scheme includes a themed pub on the ground floor. The first and second floors will become three one-bedroom flats and a two-bedroom holiday accommodation will be on the third floor.
In objections to the planning application, residents warned of worsening noise, antisocial behaviour, and 'inappropriate use on a narrow street'.
Richard Peake, 50, who will look across at the bar's smoking shelter from his rear patio, also denounced the project.
He said: 'Our outside space will be shared with their smoking area, which is not ideal.
'I just don't understand why the council feels there is a need for another bar or pub in Whitby. We've already got more than 40.
'Around the corner, there's The Quirky Den. Over the road is The Endeavour. There's not a shortage of places to go if you want to.
'We may not be invaded by Vikings, but we'll be invaded by stag parties basically.
'People come here for a boozy weekend and then they're out of here. It's just another bar to add to their list.'
Mark Gregg, 63, stormed: 'How many pubs do we need in Whitby? It's just ridiculous. We've gone from being a wonderful family holiday destination to somewhere where people go because they can't afford a booze cruise.
'It's a terrible place to open a themed bar. You'll have stag and hen parties pouring onto the street, while people are trying to sleep.
'How would you even get a fire engine down here?'
David Wharton, 80, said the coastal town's transformation into a mecca for day drinkers had gone too far, and warned Whitby was at risk of 'turning into Benidorm'.
He told how just two of 17 cottages on his road are occupied by residents full-time.
Mr Wharton said: 'It's turning into a real problem. It can be the middle of the day and you'll see drunks staggering across the street, people waving inflatable penises among the crowds.
'Many people who live here have frankly had enough. We don't want that kind of tourism.
'We want the families and their buckets and spades, coming for fish and chips, but I'm fed up of seeing middle-aged men lying unconscious in the road.
'At quarter past five on Sunday afternoon, I look out from my yard and there was a man standing there, urinating all over his trousers and all over the yard.
'It's becoming a familiar sight and it's just so unfair on the people who live here.
'They are being persecuted.'
Whitby - where Bram Stoker found inspiration for his horror novel Dracula - has been flooded by second home owners and holiday lets, with one in three properties now having no permanent residents.
The frustration is so great that North Yorkshire Council has doubled council tax for second home owners.
Despite the protestations from locals over the lack of housing for residents, councillors also this month approved plans to carve up a former five-star hotel into a dozen more holiday flats.
The Langley Hotel, a six-storey Victorian landmark, will now be converted into 12 self-contained flats aimed squarely at short-term visitors.
Martin Evans, 66, who has lived in Whitby for 10 years, said the town's charm as a bucket-and-spade resort had changed irreparably.
He said: 'The number of pubs and bars, and holiday lets, has rather become part of its identity. I think that boat has already sailed.
'It's got noisier here and the tourist season is much longer than it used to be. Now there might only be a month or so where it gets quieter.
'I just do not think this is the right place to open a themed bar.
'There are plenty of empty properties that could be converted in on the high street.'
The council approved planning permission for the themed craft ale pub, with permitted opening hours of 11am to 11pm from Sunday to Friday, and 11am to 11.30pm on Saturdays.
Vincent Roberts and Matthew Beddingham, co-owners and founders of Valhalla York, recently said: 'Valhalla York has been a real success story and we always dreamed of one day having another venue.
'We love the town, its people, its history and feel of the place and it'll be a very similar recipe to what makes Valhalla York tick but not quite the same.'
They added: 'We've got a concept. It's a historical concept as opposed to a historical theme. We don't imagine many people will quite see it coming.
'But if you like what makes Valhalla tick – good craft beer, a friendly place with an alternative vibe, rock and metal music, then you'll love what we're going to deliver in Whitby.
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