A NEW buyer has yet to be found for the city’s YMCA building, putting plans to have it converted into student accommodation by next September in serious doubt.

The Worcester branch of the charity youth hostel has again kept silent on the issue, with it previously understood to have been looking to move to a new location sometime this month.

For months, it has also refused to reveal where its new home might be, having told us in June it was still “exploring a number of housing options” which would “expand” its accommodation in the city.

It is unclear whether the apparent U-turn has scuppered any deal the other way.

We reported last month how developer PFHD (Worcester) Ltd had put the property back on the market more than a year after securing planning permission via Purple Frog to turn it into a 149-bedroom student block.

The initial plan was for it to be up and running for the start of the 2020/21 academic year and PFHD is still hopeful of finding a new buyer quickly so works can commence next year.

The Worcester YMCA, which is understood to currently accommodate around 75 people, is listed by agents Knight Frank at £2,890,000, with the advert stating it has planning consent for conversion into student accommodation.

The plan, as of July 2018 when it went before the city council, was for the listed building, which dates back to 1868, to house 87 students and a new building to provide 62 bedrooms and be largely screened from the road.

Purple Frog has told us the situation “remains as it was” last month.