Plans to turn The Lodge, Scarborough into emergency housing

​Homemore Ltd has applied to turn The Redcliffe Hotel and The Lodge in Scarborough into mixed-use sites as hotels and emergency accommodation.

​The company delivers emergency temporary accommodation for adults in partnership with local authorities and statutory services before they move on to more permanent housing.

​The three-storey Lodge and its rear annex provide 36 bedrooms. All rooms have en-suite bathrooms at the property, which sits on the north side of Valley Road, opposite the junction with Royal Avenue.

​A similar application has also been submitted for The Redcliffe Hotel at 18, Prince of Wales Terrace.

​Neighbours have already lodged objections against the second application, which follows several years of complaints about antisocial behaviour from residents of the temporary accommodation.

​In March, MP Alison Hume held a meeting with Homemore at the Wharncliffe Hotel to “try and make life easier for everyone on Blenheim Terrace”.

​She said: “Homemore has put measures in place to try and limit any disturbance caused to their neighbours. They work closely with the police too, who regularly patrol the vicinity and constantly review their Problem-Solving Plan for the surrounding area.”

​The MP for Scarborough and Whitby also encouraged residents to “report all disturbances or concerns to police as, without these, their community team can’t build up a true picture of what is happening.

​The application for The Lodge seeks to regularise the use of the property, which is currently being used as emergency accommodation.

​The applicant said that the mixed use of hotel and emergency accommodation would provide flexibility as “both uses can operate using the existing accommodation in the property, which until relatively recently was in hotel use for more than 30 years”.

​A mixed use is sought so that the property could be occupied by guests requiring holiday accommodation or emergency accommodation,

​Submitted plans stated: “There is strong demand for the accommodation offered by Homemore in Scarborough, which reflects the situation across England where demand for emergency accommodation remains very high, with the number of households in temporary accommodation being at record levels”.

​Homemore describes itself as a “specialist housing provider delivering temporary accommodation for adults, young people and families”.

​“Homemore’s systems, staffing model, and property portfolio are designed to support those in urgent need of temporary accommodation without compromising safety, oversight, or quality of provision,” the plans state.

​Both applications are set to be discussed at an upcoming meeting of Scarborough Town Council’s planning committee on Thursday, July 2.