Approval for Whitby café’s hotel conversion plan
A town centre café in Whitby will be partially converted into hotel accommodation after plans were approved by the council.
Hopes and Beans in the centre of Whitby will convert the upper floors of its building into five hotel rooms as well as establishing a bar and a hotel reception.
The property at 2, St Ann’s Staith, is located near the town’s iconic swing bridge and is within the conservation area.
The first floor of the building will accommodate two hotel rooms, while the second floor will accommodate three rooms. All of the rooms will feature double beds and supplementary features including sofas and a table and chairs.
No comments were made by members of the public and the council’s environmental health team said it had no objections.
Planners said that five hotel rooms would not be excessive in relation to the size of the building and taking into account the site’s central location.
The business currently has a license to supply alcohol, and the applicant applied to formally change the use of the ground floor to incorporate a bar.
However, officers said it was “understood that the café would remain as the primary business use on site” and the bar use would offer flexibility for the owner and operator in the future.
The hotel rooms would be accessed and serviced via a ground floor reception café and bar.
The site comprises a pair of buildings located at 2, St Ann’s Staith and floors above number 3, St Ann’s Staith. The buildings have undergone extensive alterations over the years, some of which are being reversed by the current owner as part of a sympathetic restoration, according to plans.
The applicant said: “The sympathetic works to the facade of number 3, St Ann’s Staith will improve both the building itself, together with having a positive impact upon the terrace of neighbouring buildings and the wider Whitby conservation area.”
A planning report concluded that the external alterations are “modest in their scale, respecting the character and appearance of the existing building and surrounding area and are acceptable in terms of visual amenity and design”.
The proposal was approved by North Yorkshire Council, subject to conditions, on Friday, July 31.