Kieran Robinson’s proposal to convert Whitby’s 19th-century Custom House into a holiday let has been approved by the council.

Each of the three floors of the Grade-II Listed building at 1 Old Market Place in Whitby town centre will become a holiday apartment.

The holiday lets will including include a bedroom, a kitchen, a lounge, and a bathroom.

The plan was supported by Whitby Town Council and Whitby Civic Society which said that from a heritage perspective, it was “pleased to see that the building’s interior would be improved”.

However, the Civic Society added that it was “disappointed by the loss of permanent residential accommodation”

The first two floors of the building were previously in use as offices and the third third floor had been in residential use.

Constructed in the mid to late 19th century, the first floor of the building was occupied by HM Customs and Excise from 1972 until 1998.

Plans for the scheme were first submitted to the now-defunct Scarborough Council last February and since then several revisions have been made, including a revised planning, design and heritage statement.

The authority’s heritage officer said that failure to revise plans would have forced the council to consider some potentially harmful aspects “against any public benefits of the proposal”.

The council said that key issues for the application were the development’s design and appearance, the protection of amenity, the impact on the historic and built environment, and the impact on the town centre.

Despite local concerns about the residential property’s conversion into a holiday let, the council said that the proposal would “respect the distinctive tourism character of the surrounding area”.

The local planning authority concluded that the proposal was “acceptable in principle”.

The scheme was approved, subject to various conditions, by North Yorkshire Council on Tuesday, December 19, 2023.

Whitby's historic Custom House to become holiday apartments as plans are approved