Water mains end city pub plan

Brown's Boathouse, the home of rowing boat hire near Elvet Bridge in the city, was destined to make way for a £3m pub able to hold hundreds of drinkers.

But the new owner, Ultimate Leisure, in Newcastle, has run into a costly problem that has scuppered its plans.

A major water mains runs between the 19th Century building and the Prince Bishops shopping centre and the cost off avoiding damage during construction will be prohibitive.

So the company, which owns the nearby Klute nightclub, plans to keep the building, which is closely linked to the city's rowing history, for a smaller scale caf and bar.

Graham Bolton, of Ultimate Leisure's agents Bolton Emery, said: "The engineering works and the presence of the main water main for Durham have meant that the cost of the original scheme has escalated out of proportion.

"The logistics of doing the work and getting the foundations sorted was turning out to be a much bigger job, with barges needed in the river to carry kit and equipment.

"Instead of having a development on three or four levels the new scheme will operate on two, as a mixed caf bar.''

The boathouse's demolition was approved by a planning inspector following a public inquiry earlier this year.

The City of Durham Trust campaigned against the development and collected signatures on a petition calling for the building to be saved.

The trust's chairman, Roger Cornwell, said: "To build the foundations they would need a coffer dam and barges. The expense means that what they originally planned is not viable.

"It seems they are planning a more modest scheme and it does look as if Brown's Boathouse will live on pretty much in its current form.

"It is good news. The 4,000 people who signed our petition will be as pleased as we are.

"The way of saving it is something we put forward as a possibility at the public inquiry.''

Mr Cornwell added that the trust would support the firm's new planning application to the city council.