Victorian Eastbourne hotel will not become flats after plans are withdrawn

The application, submitted to Eastbourne Borough Council, sought to convert the ‘outdated’ Fairlands Hotel, in Lascelles Terrace, into apartments.

The building has been used as an HMO for more than three years and allowed up to 39 people to stay in 24 households.

Plans included building two additional floors of accomodation to allow space for 14 two-bedroom flats, as well as proposals to demolish and replace the rear extensions of the building.

The submitted documents described how the development had been ‘carefully designed’ to ‘respect the character of the conservation area’ and to ‘reflect the scale and character’ of neighbouring buildings.

Two objections were made to the plans, which both outlined concerns over the development’s impact on the nearby Da Vinci Hotel in Howard Square.

Owner Paul Metcalf said: “I would like to point out that any increase to the height of the building would be detrimental to my guest rooms and would further block out the light to the property.

"What assurance do I have that the building’s additional height and closer proximity is not going to plunge our rear guest rooms into permanent darkness?

"As a long serving provider of tourist accommodation in Eastbourne, I would again like to express my concern about the loss of further visitor accommodation in the town and, in particular, this area of the town.”