A Whitby café has submitted a planning application to North Yorkshire Council to transform its existing holiday let apartments into a five-bedroom town centre hotel.
A modern café in Whitby has unveiled plans to convert part of its building into hotel accommodation following the submission of a planning application to the local authority.
Hopes and Beans, located near the town's iconic swing bridge, has applied to North Yorkshire Council to turn its existing holiday let apartments into five hotel rooms. The proposal forms part of a wider scheme to refurbish the town centre site.
Currently, the ground and part of the first floors are in use as a café. The new scheme proposes a sympathetic restoration of the existing building at 2 St Ann's Staith, alongside the reconfiguration of the holiday apartments into hotel accommodation.
Under the submitted plans, the hotel rooms would be accessed and serviced via a ground floor reception café and bar. The existing first-floor accommodation would be reconfigured to house two hotel bedrooms, which would be operated by and accessed through the café reception. Meanwhile, the second-floor accommodation would be transformed into three hotel bedrooms.
The site comprises a pair of buildings located at 2 St Ann's Staith and the floors above 3 St Ann's Staith. According to the plans, the buildings have undergone extensive alterations over the years, some of which are now being reversed by the current owner as part of the sympathetic restoration project.
The plans also detail that access to the second-floor accommodation will be improved and made more direct with the installation of a new staircase.
A submitted design statement explained the current layout:
"Currently the second floor is accessed by circulating through the first floor former cafe seating area to an unprotected staircase."
The current accommodation on the first floor was previously converted into holiday let use in 2023. Last year, the applicant had separate plans for a seven-room hotel approved by the local authority.
The neighbouring property is the Grade-II Listed Custom House at 1 St Ann's Staith, making the aesthetic impact of the development a key consideration for the planning application.
The applicant said:
"The proposed sympathetic works to the facade of number 3 St Ann's Staith will improve both the building itself together with having a positive impact upon the terrace of neighbouring buildings and the wider Whitby Conservation Area."
North Yorkshire Council's environmental protection team has reviewed the proposals and has not raised any objections to the development. However, the team did recommend conditions limiting construction hours if the scheme is ultimately approved.
The planning authority has not yet set a date for deciding on the application, which is currently open to representations from members of the public.
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