Planning permission has been granted by Bournemouth Borough Council for the change of use of the ground floor restaurant of a prominent hotel to B1 office use.
The office space is extremely attractive and is already occupied by a successful local business. What was a simple proposition turned into a complex negotiation due to the manner in which the council interpreted their hotel policies. The council were concerned about the loss of the restaurant and its effect on the viability of the hotel. However, the loss of the restaurant falls outside of the control of the council, and policy supports B1 uses within town centre locations. The arguments were more complex than this, however the main point is that under-utilised hotel accommodation can now be used for other purposes which can, in turn, underpin the viability of a hotel operation.
