A FORMER Southampton nightclub and bar is to make way for a seven-storey block of flats and ten houses after a developer plan won planning permission.

The boarded-up New York New York nightclub and McClusky’s bar in Queensway, Southampton, will now be swept away as part of the city council’s masterplan to regenerate the city centre.

In their place, 44 affordable homes will be built in a bid to transform a rundown area and bring more families into the city centre.

Plans include a terrace of seven town houses plus three two-storey mews houses on Brunswick Square.

The block of 34 apartments will be built on the corner of Queensway and Briton Street with a commercial unit on the bottom for a restaurant, shop or office. Roof terraces, gardens and balconies are featured throughout the scheme.

Planning committee chairman Cllr Sue Blatchford said: “I welcome the redevelopment of an absolute eyesore in Queensway. “I think the nature of the proposal is interesting, offering a nice mix of private amenities, space with the balconies. I look forward to this being carried out.”

Committee member Cllr Dave Shields said: “It is good to see houses and a bit more of a social mix. I feel at the moment the area lacks soul and that is a reflection of so few families living there.”

The project is being spearheaded by Raglan Housing Association and TAB Projects as part of a wider city centre masterplan, which aims to transform rundown areas over the next 20 years bringing more than 24,000 new jobs, 5,000 new homes and investment worth £3bn.

Raglan regional development manager Nathan Cronk said: “We are looking forward to providing family homes in the city centre. “It is very exciting and a bit different from the norm. We believe this will be a catalyst for developing other sections of Queensway and the Fruit Market opposite.”

The nightclubs closed six years ago when councillors refused to renew the licences because of a lack of a plan to address crime fears. Attempts to reopen the site as a 1,400-capacity superclub were also rejected.