AN HISTORIC building in the centre of Newport could become a new private members' club and shared working space.

If approved, The Queen’s Hotel, most recently known as a JD Wetherspoon pub and hotel in the city centre, could be set for a new lease of life.

It has been confirmed that the pub chain sold the Bridge Street venue to the ODS Group earlier this year.

And now, the Grade II-listed establishment could be transformed into a mix of co-working office space, and a private members' club.

If plans are approved, the Queen’s Hotel is set to be transformed into the Q Newport – comprising of two aspects: Q Hub, and Q Club.

According to planning documents, the first floor would be transformed into flexible office space.

The ground floor – the former home of the Wetherspoons pub itself, would be converted into a members'-only lounge, serving food, wine and cocktails.

It is not yet known when work might start to transform the venue, as it is currently waiting for permission from Newport City Council to do so.

A planning application was validated by the council last week.

It states that while the previous owners used this space for business and administrative use, it is not known if they had planning permission to do so.

Q Newport: What can we expect?

According to the Q Newport website and social media pages, the ambitious project is hoping to be Newport’s answer to WeWork - a company offering shared office space - and Shoreditch House - a private member's club in London.

Once up and running, it is set to offer either permanent or temporary office and desk space for entrepreneurs and businesses – offering tenancies ranging from just one day, all the way to one year.

The 30,000 square foot premises is also set to have “award winning dining options from morning to night and a fully stocked bar and extensive wine list”.

Their website also suggests that it will retain some element of its capacity as a hotel, offering overnight stays for its members.

It goes on to say that members will be able to bring a small number of guests in to what it calls “Newport’s only private members club”. Despite this claim, there are in fact multiple existing members-only venues throughout the city.

If plans are approved, the private members club, and work space aspects of the business will operate from 7am to 11pm.

Meanwhile, it is proposed that the hotel element will be in use 24 hours a day.

The planning application can be viewed and commented upon online here: https://tinyurl.com/rjcv5km7

More information can be found on the Q Newport website here: https://tinyurl.com/2k3njsks