‘Unacceptable’ Plan for Residential Flats in Scarborough Town Centre Rejected

Thursday, 6 February 2025 06:00

By Anttoni James Numminen, Local Democracy Reporter

‘Unacceptable’ plans to double the number of flats in a Scarborough town centre property have been rejected by North Yorkshire Council.

A proposal to subdivide the residential flats at 84 Westborough in Scarborough has been blocked by the planning authority.

If plans had been approved, the three current apartments would have been subdivided to create six self-contained open-plan flats.

Located in the town centre near the railway station, the building has three self-contained flats across each of the upper floors.

The ground floor was a former health care clinic and access to the flats is gained from Alma Square.

No comments were received from members of the public but objections were raised by the council’s housing standards team.

Officers from the housing team said that the proposed sub-division of the flats would result in internal spaces that would fall “well below that required” by national standards.

They added that the plan would result in “open plan arrangements whereby the kitchen, living room and bedroom would be in one undivided space”.

A report by the planning authority states that this would have resulted in “cramped living conditions akin to a bed-sit arrangement that would be wholly detrimental to the occupants of the new residential units”.

Planners said this would be “contrary to policy and therefore, cannot be considered sustainable development” due to the “unfettered arrangement of the internal spaces”.

In its refusal of the plan, officers concluded: “The planning objections were so fundamental that it was concluded that refusal was the only decision which was appropriate in this case.”

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