Scarborough's Victoria Seaview Hotel to be converted into flats 'due to rising energy and industry costs'

Owners of the Victoria Seaview Hotel at 125-129 Queen’s Parade said that a combination of rising costs, changes in the industry and difficulty “maintaining any financial progression” has forced them to convert the hotel into apartments.

Sally and Gavin Pearcey, who own the hotel, said the situation “is now having a detrimental impact on our health”.

Scarborough Council’s Planning and Development Committee voted unanimously in favour of approving the conversion at a meeting on Thursday October 6.

The hotel currently accommodates 32 en-suite rooms that are situated over ground, first, second, third and fourth-floor levels. It offers a traditional bed and breakfast and evening meal format with a commercial kitchen, lounge bar, and dining room facilities.

However, the layout will be converted into 13 self-contained two-bedroom units with a new lift – allowing access from the basement to the fourth-floor level – and staircase to be built centrally within the building.

At the meeting, Cllr John Nock said: “The owner has run this [hotel] for some 28 years and has been trying to sell for five years and can’t. If he wants to quit and retire, let it happen.

“If we don’t, he might decide to cut his losses and sell at a discount. If that happens, we could be looking at an application of a very different sort and might be met with one far less favourable than this.”

In a report, the council’s tourism services said the hotel is in a prime tourism location and that it would be “detrimental” to reduce the serviced and self-catering offer available “by converting prime tourism location properties into permanent self-catering accommodation”.

Alongside the application, Mr and Mrs Pearcey said: “It is now becoming harder to maintain any financial progression as costs are increasing rapidly and the amount guests are prepared to pay is not going up.

“We keep costs down by Gavin being a fully qualified chef and regularly working 16-hour days as we cannot afford to employ more staff.”