Permission for 22-bed HMO in former Scarborough town centre hotel
A former Scarborough town centre hotel can be converted into a 22-bed house of multiple occupation, following the approval of plans.
Pardeep Landa’s plan to turn the former Attenborough Hotel, at 28-29 Albemarle Crescent, into an HMO has been given the green light by North Yorkshire Council.
The town centre property consists of two adjoining Victorian townhouses located next to Albemarle Baptist Church, a Grade II listed building.
“The actual use of the premises in recent years has been unclear”, according to the council, but a report by planning officers states that “it would appear that the building had principally been used as an HMO until this point”.
No comments or objections were submitted by members of the public, although the plan was altered to exclude visitor accommodation from the scheme, based on initial concerns raised by North Yorkshire Police.
There are 10 HMOs including the host property within a 100-metre radius of the site but planners said “they are not concentrated to what could be viewed as unsuitable intensification for this location”
The HMO will have five bedrooms and the communal kitchen on the basement level, the ground floor will have four bedrooms, the utility/laundry/drying room and access to the back garden, the first floor will have six bedrooms, the second floor will also have five bedrooms and a kitchen, while four bedrooms will be on the fourth floor.
All the bedrooms will be en-suite and the floor areas are set to be “in excess of the minimum required floor standards”.
The scheme will include the erection of a security fence at the back of the property, refurbishment of the front forecourt, and creating access to both sides of the rear for future occupants.
During a site visit, council officers discovered that the property had previously been “subject to unauthorised works including the installation of replacement uPVC casement windows within the front and rear elevation that have been poorly installed and detract from the building”.
The developer will therefore install 28 replacement uPVC sliding sash windows to the front of the property.
Although the building has 26 bedrooms set over five floors, planners said that “much of the building is not considered suitable for habitation” and could not form part of the housing stock.
A management plan has been submitted within the application, which states that the HMO will be managed by a local letting agent.
The council’s environmental services team noted that “the use is not without risk of noise” and added a condition “requiring that the accommodation is managed as per the management plan to protect the amenity of the area.”