Former Lowestoft hotel set to be turned into flats for homeless

Plans to create 14 one- and two-bedroom flats in Lowestoft's former Belle Vue Hotel are being recommended for approval.

A scheme, lodged by agents Chaplin Farrant Ltd on behalf of the applicant East Suffolk Council, was submitted in July for the currently unoccupied three storey site at 89 Royal Avenue.

The former Belle Vue Hotel - now Avenue Mansions - in Lowestoft, from around 1910. Picture: East Suffolk Council (Image: East Suffolk Council)

The building, now known as Avenue Mansions, was constructed at the turn of the last century and was partially reconstructed following bomb damage during the war.

It was used as sheltered accommodation from the 1970s until it closed in 2019.

East Suffolk Council brought the empty property back into use in 2020 to accommodate those in need during the coronavirus crisis.

Back in 2020 - the empty council property at Avenue Mansions on Royal Avenue in Lowestoft that was transformed to accommodate vulnerable people. Picture: East Suffolk Council (Image: Archant)

Under the new plans, it will be used for short term occupancy.

East Suffolk's northern planning committee will vote on the proposals at a meeting on November 12, but council officers have recommend they be approved.

A planning report to councillors said: "The proposal would preserve a non-designated heritage asset, enhance the character and appearance of the North Lowestoft Conservation Area, as well as cater for a specific and acute housing need as temporary homeless accommodation."

After the Highways Authority lodged a holding objection and Lowestoft Town Council recommended refusal of the application amid concerns raised by East Suffolk's design and heritage officer, it led to the agents submitting design revisions that satisfied the consultees.