PERMISSION SOUGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO SANDOWN’S MELVILLE HALL HOTEL

Another planning application has been submitted to make adjustments at Melville Hall Hotel in Sandown. The hotel on Melville Street was once a popular destination for tourists and locals alike, particularly for those seeking a TravelZoo deal or heading to the in-house Utopia Spa facilities. The original building was built in the 1870s, with extensions added on either side of the original house in the 1950s. Then, in the 1990s, a semi-circular indoor pool was added. It was in January 2018 that the hotel was sold by Garden Isle Hotels. Then, just 4 years later in April 2022, the company Melville Hall Hotel Limited went into liquidation.

Just over a year later, in May this year, an application to change the use of the building from a hotel to a single residential unit was submitted but permission was refused at the end of June. This led to an appeal being lodged by the applicant. The Isle of Wight Council refused planning as it didn’t demonstrate that the hotel was no longer viable and that it had been marketed for a minimum of 12 months. Furthermore, the proposed porch was said to be visually incongruous and a discordant addition. Now, owner Dr Alan Humphreys is once again seeking planning permission – this time relating to the porch. Under the plans, the applicant looks to change the porch entrance at the front of the hotel, removing the pink render and returning the walls to match the brickwork above. Editor’s footnote: It was incorrectly reported that the applicant was seeking a change of use for the property. This was due to an error with the Isle of Wight Council’s planning portal which stated “Change of use from hotel to single residential unit (C3); porch (revised scheme)”. Island Echo has been told by a representative of the company that the application only refers to a change to the porch, not a change of use. We are happy to make this correction. The article above has been changed to reflect this new information.