Scarborough's Cliffside Guest House to be converted into flats as 'industry demand no longer viable'

The Grade II listed building on 79-81 North Marine Road has been in use as the Cliffside Guest House but the owners have said it is no longer financially viable.

In addition to converting the seven bedrooms, other internal works including insulation and the replacement of the modern casement windows in the Queen’s Parade elevation with timber sashes will also take place.

Council policy “only allows for the loss of tourist accommodation to other uses, if it is demonstrated that overall demand in peak periods is being met or it is demonstrated that the use is no longer viable”.

According to the applicant, Mr Andrew Brockway, the Cliffside has been run as a bed and breakfast hotel “for a number of years” but recently there has been a “decline in bookings for this type of accommodation”.

Mr Brockway said that customers are choosing “more standardised hotels, such as the Travelodge or Premier Inn which have been built in the town in recent years”.

The applicant added that the previous owners “had to take second jobs to fulfil the shortfall in wages from the hotel” and ultimately found themselves “unable to sustain an adequate standard of living for their family and thus decided to sell the hotel”.

A council report also states that the building has fallen into disrepair and the level of investment needed to bring the accommodation up to modern standard “would be substantial and unlikely to generate a viable return”.

The authority concluded that there would be “no identifiable harm arising from the proposed use” and as such the application was approved subject to conditions on Friday, January 20.

Earlier this month, Scarborough Council approved the conversion of a hotel on Columbus Ravine into a care home because the owner stated that they were “unable to recruit the appropriate staff to manage and operate the hotel".

In October last year, Scarborough’s Victoria Seaview Hotel – which is only several doors away from Cliffside Guest House – was granted permission to be converted into flats after the owners cited “rising costs” and “financial uncertainty” in the hospitality industry.