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DC Casebook: Housing conversion - Tourism threat observed in hostel loss

Housing conversion

Planning, 22 August 2008

A proposal to convert a youth hostel in a Kent seaside town into apartments has been turned down after an inspector decided that it would undermine the area's tourism potential.

The appellant proposed to convert the hostel into eight flats. She claimed that the hostel was unviable and a marketing exercise had failed to identify a potential operator. She maintained that the hostel needed to be upgraded and it would be preferable to relocate the use to more suitable premises elsewhere in the town.

The inspector found the details provided by the appellant unclear and observed that no alternative site for the hostel had been identified. The premises were staffed and trading when she visited the site and the facility lay opposite a beach in reach of a wide range of facilities. In her view, the conversion would adversely affect the supply of tourist accommodation in the town.

DCS Number 100-056-678

Inspector Elizabeth Lawrence; Written representations.