A former town centre pub in Scarborough could be turned into ‘high-quality social housing’, although the council has raised concerns about the application.
Patrick O’Sullivan wants to convert the former Alma Inn public house into “high-quality social housing within the town centre, enhancing the character and setting of the existing site”.
However, the planning authority has raised concerns about some of the details of the proposal, including minimum room sizes and rubbish bins.
Located at 2 Alma Parade, near Scarborough Railway Station, the building was previously a public house and social club consisting of three floors which contain residential accommodation on the first and second floors.
The building requires modernising, according to submitted plans, which state that “minimal changes would be made to the outside of the building to ensure it keeps the same characteristics as those around it.”.
However, the housing standards team leader at North Yorkshire Council has said he “cannot support this application” because the proposed bedrooms are not large enough.
He said that two of the flats would be “34sq m and the space requirement is 37sq m for a property with a shower room,” while in the third flat, the two bedrooms would be “8.2sq m whereas the standard requires a double bedroom to be a minimum of 11.5sq m”.
The council’s environmental health team has also raised several concerns about the application.
An officer said that the submitted plans had a “lack of provision” for bins and waste management and that “the absence of designated waste storage areas appears to conflict with local planning policies”.
It was recommended that if the application were approved, a waste control and management scheme would have to be submitted and approved by the planning authority before the development could commence.
The environmental health officer also said that a noise assessment and sound insulation and ventilation scheme would be required and would have to “include the impact of any patron noise from the adjoining commercial premises”.
“The area of Alma Parade itself predominantly consists of flats, common to inner cities and student neighbourhoods,” according to the application which concludes: “To develop this property into a domestic residence would not be out of place within the area.”.