PLANS to convert Llandudno’s Mayfair hotel into bedsits have been slammed by Aberconwy MS Janet Finch-Saunders.
An application has been submitted to Conwy County Council seeking to convert the Mayfair at 11 Deganwy Avenue.
Applicant Manhattan Rentals has submitted the application for a change of use from hotel to houses of multiple occupation (HMO).
Typically, HMOs house tenants who share a bathroom and toilet and are often contentious topics in planning debates.
But the move has faced criticism from residents, with the hotel situated in the town’s busy hotel area, with a feared effect on tourism.
The County Council has granted temporary permission for the building to be used for houses of multiple occupation.
Mrs Finch-Saunders has submitted a letter objecting to the change, and said: “It is clear that the move caused local residents and hoteliers serious distress as the guesthouse in question is situated on a street in the heart of a community which is renowned for its thriving tourist sector.
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“Conwy County Borough Council may have got away with undermining our tourism sector last year, but it is already clear that many of us in Llandudno are determined to stop this from happening again.
“It is my belief that the application is in direct conflict with the Conwy Local Development Plan 2007-2022 (LDP), including Policy TOU/3 - Holiday Accommodation Zones, which states: ‘Holiday Accommodation Zones are designated in Llandudno and shown on the proposals map. To safeguard an appropriate level of serviced accommodation for tourism, proposals for the redevelopment or conversion of existing serviced accommodation to other uses will not be permitted within the zones’.
“11 Deganwy Avenue is in the zone, so, according to the County Council’s own policy, planning permission cannot be permitted.
“In fact, that same policy states that ‘It is also important that the loss of hotels is resisted’”.
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