Whitby town centre café can become seven-bed hotel
A Whitby town centre café and holiday let will be partially converted into a seven-bed hotel.
Richard Exley’s proposal for a change of use of the Hopes and Beans café into a seven-bed hotel on the building’s upper floors has been approved by North Yorkshire Council.
Located at St Ann’s Staith, next to Whitby’s swing bridge, the ground floor will be a café, bar, and hotel reception, while the first and second storeys will be used as hotel rooms.
The change of use will also include a series of external alterations, such as the installation of replacement windows, removal of the existing fire escape and the fire escape door on the southern side of the property.
However, some proposed alterations were scrapped to alleviate “concerns” raised by officers.
According to submitted plans, three hotel rooms will be created on the first floor of the building and four rooms will be on the second floor.
“All of the proposed rooms will cater as double occupancy rooms, some of which have supplementary features such as sofas and tables and chairs.”
In 2023, the council approved a plan to convert the first and second floors into holiday accommodation, which has been “partially implemented”.
The building is currently used as a café on the ground floor, with additional café seating on the first floor.
No comments were received from members of the public or from Whitby Town Council, while the Environment Agency said it had no objections.
The council’s tourism department said it was “supportive of additional serviced accommodation stock in Whitby” and added that “the application is welcomed”.
Officers noted that “tourism is fundamental to the local economy” and added that the scheme “would respect the tourism character of the area”.
“All of the rooms are larger than is expected for a double room in the Nationally Described Space Standards,” according to a planning report.
North Yorkshire Council concluded that the application was “acceptable” and granted planning permission.