Filey holiday lets cannot become residential flats despite call for affordable housing, council rules

A holiday let in Filey cannot be converted into a residential property despite calls to address the lack of affordable housing.

North Yorkshire Council has said that a complex of three holiday lets near Filey town centre cannot be turned into residential flats due to a condition restricting their use.

The holiday lets are located to the rear of 8 Mitford Street, Filey.

Planning officers said that the three flats would be “woefully under the minimum floor areas” and the occupants would have “a particularly poor level of residential amenity”.

But Filey Town Council said it was in favour of changing the use of the properties as “there is a shortage of affordable housing in Filey”.

It noted that the properties were not ideal for full-time occupancy but would “provide some welcome provision for local residents”.

In 2020 the same applicant, David Hunter, was given permission to build the three holiday lets but the planning authority set conditions requiring that they “shall not be used for purposes other than holiday letting”.

The authority added that the holiday lets were “not assessed for their suitability as independent dwellings for general occupation at that time”.

Officers noted that if approved, the three dwellings would provide “much-needed lower-cost units” and would add to the mix of residential properties in the area.

The level of car parking was also assessed as appropriate for the scale of the proposed development.

However, it was concluded that the nature of the properties, including their “upside-down design” – with the lounge and kitchen on the first floor and the bedrooms on the ground floor – would result in “an inadequate level of privacy”.

A planning report states: “The harm that would result from the poor standard of residential amenity is not outweighed by the benefits that would accrue from the proposal.”

The proposal was refused by North Yorkshire Council on Monday, December 11.