Plans have been submitted to change a former toilet block and part of a cafe on Sandown Esplanade into holiday lets.
The Beach Shack, on the western end of Sandown Esplanade, currently a summer cafe with partially indoor seating, could become just a takeaway service with three holiday units around it.
Transforming the cafe
A planning application has been submitted to the Isle of Wight Council by a Mr G Orr to transform the cafe and the now unused toilet block next to it on Ferncliff Path.
The toilet block would be turned into a two-storey two-bed holiday let with a balcony looking out over Sandown Bay.
The cafe would serve through a hatch with external seating only while the remaining space, plus an extension on top, would create two one-bed units.
Encouraging growth in tourism industry
Planning agent for the development, Mr N White, said the building would be kept as low as possible to minimise the impact but would encourage and increase growth in the tourism industry.
No parking spaces are proposed for the site, as the road doesn’t stretch that far and it is thought, should the development be approved, patrons would park in the public paying spaces along the Esplanade.
Local objection
A neighbour to the development commented on the application saying while they understood businesses need to make money, they did not think the development of the site had been thought through properly.
They said:
“There is no vehicular access, no on-site parking, it is adjacent to a turning head that is already regularly abused by people who believe yellow lines do not apply to them.
“The parking problems here are already profound, the recent development of a new hotel will exasperate an already awful underprovision of car parking, this too will cause even more vehicular pollution as more and more cars look for fewer car parking spaces.”
To view the application, 20/01944/FUL, or to submit a comment, you can visit the Isle of Wight Council’s planning portal.
All comments should be made by 18th December.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may be been made by OnTheWight. Ed
Image: Emanuela Picone under CC BY 2.0
