A MAJOR seafront hotel has applied for a major expansion, which includes additional hotel rooms, a new gym, and retail units.
If successful, Brighton's Old Ship Hotel would erect a six-storey extension on Black Lion Street, create five new retail units on the seafront, and introduce a gym and refurbished bar and restaurant.
The extension would create 70 new guest rooms, bringing the total to 224.
Owners hope this investment will ensure that the hotel “meets the modern-day needs of hotel users and help contribute towards the wider tourism visions of the seafront of the City of Brighton.”
The Old Ship plans
Brighton and Hove City Council approved similar development plans in June 2019, but after the Covid-19 pandemic, the hotel is now seeking an even larger development due to impacts on the hotel industry over the past two years.
“The new proposals seek to increase the number of hotel rooms to 224 whilst maintaining the same scale and massing of the previously approved extensions to the Old Ship Hotel, with small external changes proposed to the central internal courtyard only,” the proposal reads.
The previous application sought to create 54 new hotel rooms, versus the 70 that are now being proposed.
The Old Ship plans
The plans will also remove the nightclub at basement level and demolish the existing garage to make way for a new six-storey building.
The expansion hopes to support local businesses with the creation of five new residential units on Ship Street, with independent operators at the helm in order to “respond to local needs and support the tourism economy of the wider city.”
Said to be the oldest hotel in Brighton, the earliest records of The Old Ship Hotel date from 1665, with later additions added in the nineteenth and twentieth century. The Assembly Rooms, to the north of the hotel, is a Grade II listed building. It was said to be frequented by King William IV .
The site is located within the Old Town conservation area, which the Council describes as “the economic, social and civic core of Brighton throughout its transition from fishing settlement to city.”
Owners of The Old Ship Hotel believe their establishment is one of the historical focal points of the Brighton
A decision from Brighton and Hove City Council is expected by Wednesday, 30 November.
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