Scarborough Council approves new ‘luxury’ lets in town centre

A pair of buildings, one of which was formerly home to a legal office, will be converted into a 10-bedroom holiday property in central Scarborough.

The application, submitted by the Andrew Goodall Group Ltd, was given the go-ahead by Scarborough Council on July 13.

It will see the Victorian buildings on 50-51 Albemarle Crescent converted into a “luxury” holiday home, with alterations, including the installation of replacement uPVC windows and the demolition of a rear extension taking place.

The currently vacant four-storey building will also see internal works take place to remove separating walls, thus creating enlarged rooms and an open plan kitchen, living and dining area on the ground floor.

According to a management plan submitted alongside the application, the property will be managed by Yorkshire Coast Property Management and will sit with the company’s “Coastal Luxe” brand along with a block of 22 luxury holiday apartments, also in central Scarborough.

No public representations were received and neither the Highway Authority nor the council’s environmental services raised any objections.

However, according to a council report, the environmental services commercial regulator said that as the site is “surrounded by commercial premises which are likely to be the source of noise and odour” the property “must not be occupied by permanent residents unless full and complete noise and odour assessments are carried out”.

Council officers also raised questions regarding the loss of central office space that would occur if the application were approved, as council policy “seeks to safeguard employment sites and premises”.

But the authority’s assessment concluded that there was a “limited prospect of the offices being reused” and the building was considered “unsuitable for modern employment without considerable investment”.

The council also said that the “creation of new tourism facilities” was to be encouraged, adding that it was likely to “provide an alternative form of visitor accommodation and tourism experience”.

Holiday and second home ownership has been a topic of considerable discussion in recent weeks, with Whitby residents voting strongly in favour of restricting new and additional housing to full-time local occupation.

North Yorkshire County Council is also looking into levying a 100 per cent council tax rise on second homes, though second home owners have argued that doing so would limit second homes to only the wealthy.

Scarborough Council approved the application to convert the property at Albemarle Crescent, subject to conditions.