A FORMER social club, which has been closed for over two years, could be demolished and replaced by flats if new plans are given the go-ahead.

Osborne Road Development Ltd has submitted a planning application to Test Valley Borough Council, asking for permission to build two new blocks of flats on land that is currently occupied by the Wykeham Club.

The members’ club, accessible from both Western Road and Osborne Road, has been closed for over two years since shutting up shop in April 2014.

Administrators Portland, who took over the business in December 2014, said the closure was due to a “significant drop in attendance” as well as a lack of funds to pay for insurance.

Joint administrators, James Tickell and Carl Faulds, said in a report that their two options were to re-open the club as a “viable business” or to sell the property.

The say the company received “no viable plans” to re-open the club and it was therefore marketed for 10 months from February 2015, at a price of £700,000.

Plans were submitted to convert the club into a children’s nursery earlier this year, however they were later withdrawn. Now developers are eyeing a major overhaul of the site, officially lodging their plans with TVBC last month.

If the application is given the green light, Osborne Road Development Ltd will be permitted to demolish the current building and replace it with two new blocks of flats.

Each three-storey block is planned to contain 10 flats, while the developer is also promising 26 on-site parking spaces as well as room for amenities.

All of the properties, which range from one to three bedroom, will have access to a shared rear garden.

The plans also make room for a public play area at the Western Road entry to the site.

The proposals are likely to be discussed by councillors later this year.

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