PLANS to convert a derelict building in Teignmouth into serviced accommodation have been given the green-light.

Submitted by Cloud9 Investments Ltd, the application - reference 26/00173/FUL - sought permission to change the use of 137-139 Bitton Park Road, pictured, to serviced accommodation (Use Class C1).

And Teignbridge Council have granted planning permission, albeit subject to several stipulations, namely the submission of a Construction Management Plan (CMP) and that the approved units are occupied for holiday purposes only and not as a person’s main place of residence.

‘The owner shall maintain an up to date register of the details of all occupiers, including their names and main home addresses, of the holiday unit on the site and shall make it available for inspection at all reasonable times by the local planning authority’, the council said.

The building has remained vacant for a prolonged period and ‘no longer provides an active or viable commercial use in its current form’, the planning statement for 26/00173/FUL says.

The proposed development seeks to ‘bring the building back into beneficial use’ through its conversion to serviced accommodation; the proposal utilises the existing structure and footprint, with only ‘limited and proportionate alterations’.

The planning statement says: ‘Serviced accommodation is considered an appropriate and compatible use for the site, providing managed short-stay accommodation similar in nature to small- scale hotel or guest accommodation’.

Serviced accommodation refers to short - or medium - term fully furnished homes - either apartments or houses - that are available to book by the night, week, or month.

Unlike hotels, these properties offer more space, privacy, and flexibility.

‘The proposed use represents a sustainable and proportionate evolution of the site that brings an existing building back into active use without resulting in harm to the character or function of the surrounding area’, the planning statement adds.