A FORMER private members’ club in Aberdare could be turned into a hotel with a restaurant and pub.
Plans have been submitted, including an application for listed building consent, for the conversion of Constitutional Buildings on the corner of Canon Street and High Street to an apart-hotel and restaurant/pub.
The conversion would focus on the rear ground and upper floors and would include 15 serviced accommodation units.
The design and access statement submitted with the application says the hospitality industry is currently in a “very poor” condition and the public demand for large town centre venues such as this site is at an extremely low level.
It says the national Constitutional Club, which owned the building, ceased trading in 2025 and its assets were sold off at that time.
The statement says it is considered that the building is “no longer economically viable” as function A n rooms and the most viable option would be to convert the rear ground-floor function room and the two upper floors into serviced accommodation while retaining the retail use along Canon Street and altering the front bar along High Street into a self-contained café/bar/restaurant.
The design and access statement also says it is now 10 years since the last renovation of the building and consequently it is at a point where further maintenance such as painting the windows and walls is now required.
The statement says the proposal will “provide much-needed visitor accommodation as well as significantly enhancing the overall economic activity within the area”, adding: “The building is suitable for the proposed use and is a highly sustainable location.”
The design and access statement also includes some background about the building.
It says the first Constitutional Club in Aberdare was founded in a building on Commercial Street in 1884 but the club rapidly outgrew this and moved to premises along Canon Street a year later.
Even this site proved too small and a new purpose-built building was therefore proposed.
Land for this at the corner of Canon Street and High Street was purchased for the club by Lord Merthyr in 1888 and plans were drawn up and approved.
The building was built by David Walters and was complete by July 1893.
It was officially opened on March 15, 1894, by J M Maclean, the Conservative candidate for Cardiff.
In 1905 the Palace Theatre of Varieties opened in the hall, although this enterprise only lasted four years before becoming the New Empire Theatre in 1909.
The building later became a ballroom and concert venue.
During the 1960s the first floor was converted into the Go–Go Bar, which later became Decker’s nightclub.
The building reverted to being a private members’ club with three separate function rooms around the turn of the 21st century.
The building was substantially renovated in 2014 and this included the replacement of the previous UPVC windows with new timber sliding sash windows, a complete replacement of the roof, the reinstatement of the stone balustrade to the three-storey element of the building, and the reinstatement of the clock.
The current layout of the ground floor remains unaltered and is made up of three shops, a front bar, and function room to the rear.
The first floor originally included a billiards room together with a cards room, reading room, library, and committee room.
The kitchen was situated on the second floor and was connected to the ground through the installation of a lift.
The use of the building has changed over the years although it has retained its original function as a place of entertainment, the design and access statement says.
