A former Isle of Wight village restaurant, which traded for some 27 years, will be transformed into residential accommodation.
Iain Cowcher has gained prior approval for a conversion of the now closed Ganders Restaurant on Upper Green Road in St Helens into a 2-bedroom apartment.
The celebrated establishment closed last year. It was named as one of the Isle of Wight’s top 20 restaurants by the Daily Telegraph and earned multiple TripAdvisor Certificates of Excellence.
A council decision report said:
“Officers are satisfied that the proposed change of use to the ground floor to residential use would not adversely impact upon the character or sustainability of the St Helens Conservation Area.
“All the habitable rooms of the proposed dwelling would benefit from adequate natural light.”
A Heritage Statement previously submitted to the council said:
“The proposal is to change the use of the ground floor from commercial, currently a restaurant, to a 2 bedroomed residential dwelling.
Article continues below this advertisement “In the current economic climate, the restaurant is not proving to be a viable business and has ceased trading.
“The proposal will not have any detrimental effect on the Conservation Area or be harmful to the existing building.”
Plans for the flat include 1 bathroom, a kitchen and a lounge or dining room area, with windows in all rooms. Mr Cowcher’s application form said the outside of the building will not change but signage will be removed.
Such a shame the restaurant closed but the state
of the country now there are no other options.
Best of luck.
The Good new is that is in not an HMO
Too small for an HMO
Old derelict hotels could be turned into HMOs though!