The plans by British Land and Amazon Properties include a demolition of the vacant hotel building behind the front facade and a redevelopment to provide 18 new flats.
The Council's planning officer said in the committee report (45-page / 9.39MB PDF) that the hotel was located within an area which "is acknowledged as over-subscribed with hotels" and that local policies therefore encourage a change of use to residential.
The developer will make a financial contribution of £864,000 to the Council's affordable housing fund. The officers said that a scheme of the scale of the proposed development would require a contribution of nearly £3.6 million, however, they acknowledged the developer's viability report which suggested that the maximum viable contribution would be £864,000.
