Plans have been unveiled to convert an “empty and dilapidated” 32-bed hotel in St Lawrence into two houses as well as adding six tourism units on the grounds.
Turner Holiday Rentals submitted the plans to the Isle of Wight Council for the change of use of St Rhadagund’s hotel on Undercliff Drive, which has been vacant for the past five years.
Emergency work had to be carried out on the hotel roof recently to prevent water ingress.
Return to residential holiday retreat
Now to save the property further, the applicants are willing to invest to bring the eyesore site back into use by looking to return the hotel to its original residential use.
St Rhadagund’s was built in the 1870s for William Kilburn, a royal photographer, but was used as a holiday retreat from 1938 onwards.
Planning agents for the development, Plan Research, said in recent years the hotel has fallen into ‘disrepair’ due to ‘the financially unsustainable proposition of a two-star retreat centre operating from a large, old building with high running and maintenance costs’.
The building also needs new heating and electrical systems.
Six new holiday units
The current owners, Turner Holiday Rentals, bought the site in 2016 and underwent pre-application talks with the council, but no plans were ever officially submitted.
Proposals now suggest going back to residential use, demolishing the rear wing and building six holiday units near the Seven Sisters Road entrance to the site in a courtyard setting.
The holiday units would have 18 bedrooms across the six semi-detached properties, built in an Edwardian style fitting in with the nearby St Rhadagund’s Cottages, and would fund the restoration and upgrades needed on the main building.
Market for large hotels has dried up
The agents say the tourism market for large hotels has dried up recently due to the Covid pandemic, with people preferring smaller holiday properties, which fell in line with the restrictions.
Justifying the development, Plan Research said,
“A large building that is unused is more likely to fall into neglect than one used as a home.”
The hotel building will be split in two — creating a five-bed and a seven-bed house, one of which would be occupied by the owner of the site if the development goes ahead.
To view the proposals, 21/00905/FUL, you can view the council’s planning register. Comments will be accepted until 14th June.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is part of. Read here to find about more about how that scheme works on the Island. Some alterations and additions may have been made by News OnTheWight. Ed
