Agenda item

The Committee will be requested to consider an application for planning permission,

details of which are set out in the accompanying report.

The Planning Committee considered planning application 19/0163 requesting permission for internal and external alterations to the former post office including erection of two x 3 storey rear extensions, including one with roof terrace to Abingdon Street elevation, erection of first floor level hotel terrace within existing service yard area, installation of replacement windows, new hotel entrance and entrance to Class A3 restaurant/ cafe use to Edward Street elevation, re- cladding of roof level to Edward Street and conversion of buildings to provide 102 bed hotel with ancillary bar, leisure uses, retail uses, restaurant/ cafe within Use Classes A1, A3, D2 with associated Class B1 administrative offices, car parking for 46 vehicles, landscaping, boundary treatment, refuse storage, access, servicing, plant and associated demolition works at Former Post Office, Abingdon Street and Edwards Street, Blackpool.

Miss Parker, Head of Development Management, provided the Committee with an overview of the application and presented the proposed site layout, location and elevation plans and aerial views of the site. Miss Parker advised that there were two applications relating to the proposed development which comprised this application that sought full planning permission and the application at Agenda Item 7 for Listed Building Consent.  

Miss Parker reminded the Committee of the two previous applications for planning permission and Listed Building Consent that been approved for the site and advised that the current application represented a revision and re-submission of the previous applications.  She also advised that the application remained speculative and that no end user for the proposed development had as yet been identified.  The Committee was also reminded of the property’s status as a Grade II Listed Building.  Miss Parker reported on her view that the proposal represented an appropriate re-use of the premises in principle, subject to the imposition of appropriate conditions. 

The Committee noted the current concerns relating to potential enforcement action and acknowledged the need to ensure no further deterioration of the property. Miss Parker referred to the applicant’s continued endeavours to identify an end user for the proposed development which provided the potential to bring the building back into beneficial use and thereby safeguard its future which, in her view, weighed significantly in favour of development.  She also reported on the lack of objection from the Head of Highways and Traffic Management, subject to appropriate conditions being attached to the permission, if granted and referred to the amended and additional conditions as detailed in the update note.  She also reported on the additional objections that had been received since publication of the update note.

Mr White, Member of the Public, spoke in objection to the application.  He reported on the reasons for objection which included the oversupply of bed stock in the town, the number of approved applications for new hotels combined with the decrease in the number of overnight visitors.  Further concerns related to his view of the inadequate parking provision and overall impact on the community, which in his view extended beyond the independent hoteliers.

Mr Taylor, member of the public, also spoke in objection to the application.  His main concerns included the impact on the town and the livelihoods of existing accommodation providers.  He also reported on his view of the impact of the proposed development on the provision of quality accommodation.

The Committee considered the application and had regard to the concerns raised by the objectors to the proposal.  It noted that commercial competition was not a planning consideration.  In response to a question from the Committee, Miss Parker confirmed that the conditions attached to the planning permission, if granted, could be made to be both enforceable and defensible. Members acknowledged the benefit of the proposal in terms of bringing a heritage asset back into use and the need for quality hotel accommodation within the town.  In terms of parking provision, the Committee noted the highly accessible location of the premises. 

Resolved:  That the application be approved, subject to the conditions, including the amended and additional conditions reported in the update note, and for the reasons outlined in the decision notice which can be accessed via the link below:

https://idoxpa.blackpool.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=_BLCKP_DCAPR_63041

Background papers:  Applications, plans and replies to consultations on the application.