More hotel beds set to be lost in Lyme Regis

Proposals to turn hotel suites at the Bay Hotel into private residential apartments are expected to get the go ahead from district planners.

The planning application to convert eight hotel suites into nine apartments will be considered by West Dorset District Council's development control committee today, when members will be urged by the planning officer to approve the scheme.

The application from hotel owners Brendon and Lynn Cable comes seven years after similar plans were thrown out amid huge public outcry over losing another hotel in the resort.

Mr and Mrs Cable said there is falling demand for hotel accommodation and continuing to run it this way is 'uneconomical, unviable, and unsustainable'.

The report from planning officer Debbie Redding confirms they have tried to sell the business twice over a two-year period but failed to find a buyer.

They have also spent up to £13,000 a year on marketing the hotel but major problems, such as lack of parking and no function room, have meant it cannot compete against some other hotels in the town.

The proposed scheme would provide two one-bedroom flats, five two-bedroom units, and a three-bedroom apartment over three floors, while the restaurant on the ground floor would remain as it is.

This has been opposed by Lyme Regis Town Council, which is worried about the loss of visitor accommodation and the impact this would have on the tourist economy.

Lyme Regis Development Trust has also warned that they are likely to become 'semi-deserted second homes'.

Chief executive Marcus Dixon said other many of the town's other hotels and guesthouses are run profitably and claimed the move would lead to job losses.

Mr Dixon said it is estimated by South West Tourism that each bed let in the town brings between £50 and £100 into the broader local economy.

“These hotels once lost will be impossible to recover,” he said.

“Gradually we are seeing an imbalance developing in the local economy, which many local business people see developing into a downward spiral and having a domino effect that will gradually undermine what makes Lyme Regis the remarkable place it is.”

But the planning officer Ms Redding disagreed and said loss of accommodation would not be grounds to refuse the plans in this case.

She said: “It is the loss of the tourist accommodation in this central location that is regrettable and will possibly have some effect on the local economy.

“However, the applicant has proven that the business as existing is not viable and he has been unable to market the hotel as existing.

“However, the conversion to apartments will mean the building remains fully utilised, which should ensure its maintenance in the future, which would be preferable to the closure of the business and disrepair of the building.”