Plans have been submitted to the Isle of Wight Council to convert the 1st and 2nd floors of the historic Rectory Mansion in Brading, once home to the Waxworks Museum, into a mix of bedsits and flats.
The application, submitted by the building’s owners Lillyjames Limited, seeks consent from the local authority to convert 3 existing 1st floor retail units into 1 residential flat and 1 bedsit flat, plus conversion of the 2nd floor offices and vacant floor space into 2x single-person bedsits.
The building used to host the famous Waxworks Museum but in 2012 the site was redeveloped, although the iconic thatched building situated on the corner of Quay Lane and High Street was retained and converted into an antiques centre.
It’s said that Rectory Mansion is 1 of the oldest buildings on the Isle of Wight and the only close-studded townhouse locally, originally a house for the Oglander family before becoming a pub known as The Crown Inn in the 17th century. Part of the building is Grade II listed, but not the part that is the subject of this new planning application.
According to plans, there will be no change to the existing ground floor or its businesses and there will be no external alterations. Furthermore, had the planning consent in 2012 not been subject to a condition restricting the use to an antiques/craft centre, the applicants could have created 2 residential flats under current permitted development rights.
In a planning statement, owners Nick Challen and John McLagan have said:
“We have run this building for over 8 years and have tried every angle to make it viable, from a restaurant, café, antique centre, shops, work areas then offices, there is just not the call for the units, more so being first and 2nd floor in Brading. This is now proven, we have gone down the route of going through agents but due to their fees and the legal costs it is not viable.
“The last three tenants we have had in units 1b, 2,7, 13 have left without paying part way through their tenancy, one through an agent with little to no hope of getting back the outstanding rents and empty periods as they had leases in place, we now have unit 1 empty as well.
Article continues below this advertisement “We have advertised the units’ various ways on the building signage, carpark signs, website, Facebook, IW County Press, agents, to no avail.”
Islanders can have their say on the application until 28th July at https://publicaccess.iow.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=RWHTZ7IQ07V00, with a decision due to be taken by the Isle of Wight Council by 16th August.
I know! – why not open it as a tourist attraction, maybe a waxworks or something like that?
I loved the waxworks museum. I went there from my early teens (I’m 60 now) and it was a sad day when it closed. It was always really busy and brought a lot of people to Brading. It really brightened the town up when it was painted pink!
Loads of people pass through Brading, the train brings people here too. We should have an attraction that encourages them to stay and explore this historic ancient Kyng’s Town
They should turn it into a prison for all the druggy folk and teenage pistol whippers