A 3-bedroom house with rooftop solar panels could be built within the grounds of a neglected former Ventnor hotel.
Paul Clark has lodged a planning application with the Isle of Wight Council for a 2-storey home off Ventnor’s Madeira Road, next to the empty Ventnor Towers Hotel.
The cliff top application site is on the edge of Bonchurch, the village which suffered a catastrophic landslide in December 2023.
In addition to bedrooms, the proposed building would have a living room, utility room, kitchen, dining room, ensuite bathroom, dressing room and balcony. There would also be 2 car parking spaces and a bike store.
The council has so far received a single objection under the name, M. Swan:
“This ultra-modern building is totally out of harmony with the surroundings. Any previous newbuilds in the area have been reasonable in keeping with the rest of the area.
“It would be a shame to allow this type of building to be erected in a conservation area.”
In a memo to Maria Bishop, County Hall’s development control officer, fellow council planner Jerry Willis said Mr Clark’s application could be refused due to the ‘potential loss of high amenity trees’ said to be ‘significant to the wider area’.
Ventnor Towers Hotel has been disused for years and was described in reviews prior to its closure as ‘Fawlty Towers meets the Overlook Hotel from the Shining’ and ‘mildly terrifying’.
Previous plans to demolish the hotel and turn it into a private residence were withdrawn in January 2024.
The council’s public consultation on the application will close on 7th February and a decision is expected on 5th March.
I am not sure this is news ? Someone has applied to build a single house. I am far more concerned about the impact of building several hundred houses in the Ryde area.
One house will not put a strain on local services and infrastructure and it is utilising solar energy so will be a net energy contributor in the summer.
I would be a bit nervous about building in a landslip area myself though.
Well they have 2 objections now. What a monstrosity, completely out of character.
NEXT TO…the VT hotel, meaning that the eyesore will stay. It remains there precisely because of the problems associated with knocking it down, the sizes of the vehicles and machinery needed to do so etc in a road that small. Same problems will arise with the new build and on a stretch of unstable land. The only surprise is that there is only one objection.
Why ? Oh why does anyone wish to build this horribly square monstrosity on the edge of the lovely unspoiled village of Bonchurch ? In/on a cliff top site. Future generations will look back with horror at our willingness to despoil our environment.