Bedford nightclub could become a hotel if plans get the green light

Bedford Borough Council has received an application to convert the former nightclub (and before that, the Howard Congregational Chapel) to a 26-bed hotel.

The applicants said a chapel was originally constructed on the site around 1774 and enlarged in 1849. There was further expansion with the provision of a school building at its rear in 1878.

The chapel ceased being used as a place of worship in 1971, and permission was granted in the late 1990s for its partial demolition and rebuilding to create a nightclub. The applicants added that the front and rear sections were retained and a ‘concrete box’ was constructed in the middle.

An appeal for an application to convert the site to 23 apartments was dismissed in August.

If planning is granted, the development will involve “minor internal alterations” to achieve the change of use, a part extension above the modern central section of the building, and changes to the side elevations for additional doors and windows.

The front façade is proposed to remain unaltered.

The applicants consider that the proposed hotel would “not result in any harmful impacts upon [sic] neighbouring properties and uses”.

More information can be found on the council’s planning portal, where two applications have been submitted, 24/02010/FUL and 24/02011/LBC.

Both outline similar plans but emphasise different regulatory perspectives—planning versus heritage.

The overall consultation expiry date for both applications is Wednesday, November 20, 2024.