Boutique hotel plans for Victorian home in March

A large Victorian family home could find a new lease of life as a boutique hotel if plans for a change of use get the go-ahead.

Relax Inn- Station Road Ltd, has applied to change 42 Station Road, March from its current four-bedroom family home status to a hotel with 12 apartment rooms.

A planning design and access statement drawn up in support of the application by 3D Planning explains the property is a large detached Victorian villa, which has been used as a family home for a number of years but has been vacated and has been on the market for several months.

In fact the property is currently on the market with Fine and Country with a price-tag of £750,000.

The last time it was sold it went for £495,000 in February 2019.

The statement explains: “The applicant is experienced in hotel management and in transforming underperforming hotels to better meet current and emerging customer demand.”

It goes on to explain that seven of the 12 bedrooms will be on the groundfloor, making them suitable for people with mobility issues.

The only changes to the site layout will be the provision of additional parking on the frontage of the property, which has a prominent position on Station Road.

Only minor internal alterations are proposed to the internal arrangement of the property to configure the rooms in the most efficient manner.

The statement says the proposal will offer traditional bed and breakfast rooms “as these are considered to better meet customers’ demands in this location.”

The rooms will not incorporate kitchen facilities meaning the guests would use the existing food outlets within the town for meals.

It is planned that there will be 24-hour management of the site with an on-site presence to meet customers’ needs and to deal with any amenity issues.

The hotel does not incorporate a communal dining room, bar, or function room and as such it will not host functions or large events, which are generally the most disruptive and which can adversely impact on amenity to neighbours from more traditional hotels. The only shared area is the breakfast room.

The statement also lists a number of other positives in support of the application: The provision of a new boutique hotel in an edge of centre location is consistent with the strategic and sustainability policies of the adopted local plan.

• The site is in a highly sustainable and accessible location between the railway station and the centre of the town. • The building is suitable for conversion and no external alterations are proposed.

• The proposal has adequate parking on site to a meet operational needs.

• The limited scale and nature of the hotel accommodation (no function room or bar is such that it is unlikely to have an unacceptable impact on residential amenity.