Agenda item

Report of Director of Regeneration and Planning.

Lead cabinet member:  Councillor Steve Wallis.

(1) Tourist accommodation retention SPD (appendix 4 to report), endorsed and full council recommended to adopt the document.

(2) Full council recommended to revoke the assessment of financial viability of tourist accommodation supplementary planning guidance(appendix 5 to report).

(3) Full council recommended that any minor or technical adjustments found necessary in the tourist accommodation retention SPD be delegated to director of regeneration and planning in consultation with lead cabinet member.

(4) Terms of reference for a tourist accommodation consultative group(appendix 3 to report) agreed.

73.1 Cabinet considered the report of the director of regeneration and planning considering the need for a change of planning policy approach to tourist accommodation as a result of changes in the tourism market and visitor behaviour.  The formulation of new planning policy could only take place through a local plan. As the next local plan was not due to be adopted until 2019, it was not possible to create a new policy for tourist accommodation at this current time, however, the production of a new supplementary planning document would allow a new interpretation of the existing policy, which would allow a new policy position to be provided.

73.2 Eastbourne was one of the largest providers of tourist accommodation in the south east outside London, and had the 26th highest supply of hotel rooms in the country.  Eastbourne had a significant stock of tourist accommodation, including 46 hotels, 60 guesthouses and 144 self-catering units, amounting to approximately 3,500 bedrooms.  Over 90% of Eastbourne’s hotels and guesthouses/B&Bs were located within the area along the seafront defined as the tourist accommodation area.  The majority of the rooms (81%) were located within hotels.  Although there was one 5-star and two 4-star hotels in Eastbourne, the majority of supply was concentrated towards the lower end of the market in the 3-star, 2-star and budget categories. 

73.3 Since 2008, there had been a change in tourist behaviour and trends, with a focus on multiple breaks for shorter durations, and increasing expectations of quality of accommodation.  This had led to a decrease in the proportion of trips to seaside destinations, as the tourist accommodation in these locations was often not up to the quality and standard that modern-day visitors expected.  The conclusion of a tourist accommodation study undertaken in 2015 was that there was a need to rebalance and diversify the supply of tourist accommodation with future emphasis on quality rather than quantity.  This would allow Eastbourne’s tourist accommodation to develop more organically and in turn appeal to and attract new markets.  A rebalancing of the supply required a more flexible approach to managing the tourist accommodation.  In order to allow the gradual reduction of poor quality stock in more secondary locations and help stimulate investment in better quality accommodation, appealing to a broader range of visitors, a change of policy approach was required.

73.4 The new planning policy position would help the tourist accommodation stock remain fit for purpose and meet the requirements of current and future visitors.  A tourist accommodation retention SPD had therefore been published for consultation between 23 September and 4 November 2016.  A total of 17 representations were submitted from 10 respondents.  A full list of the representations received and responses was provided as appendix 1 to the report.  It was not considered that any of the representations raised any major issues, although some minor amendments were proposed to the SPD.  A schedule of changes to the draft SPD was provided as appendix 2 to the report.

73.5 The formation of a tourist accommodation consultative group, consisting of representatives from the Eastbourne Hospitality Association, council officers and a local property agent, would help to provide a trade perspective on proposals and ensure the quality and standard of applications for the loss of tourist accommodation so that they could be determined more swiftly.

73.6 The SPD would need to be adopted by full council before it could be used in the determination of planning applications. The assessment of financial viability of tourist accommodation supplementary planning guidance, which the new SPD would replace, would also need to be revoked.

73.7* Resolved (budget and policy framework): (1) That the tourist accommodation retention supplementary planning document (SPD), as set out in appendix 4 to the report, be endorsed and that full council, at their meeting on 22 February 2017, be recommended to adopt the document.

(2) That full council be recommended to revoke the assessment of financial viability of tourist accommodation supplementary planning guidance, as set out in appendix 5 to the report.

(3) That full council be recommended that any minor or technical adjustments found necessary in the tourist accommodation retention SPD be delegated to the director of regeneration and planning in consultation with the lead cabinet member.

(4) That the terms of reference for a tourist accommodation consultative group, as set out in appendix 3 to the report, be agreed.