Plan to convert 122-year-old former Scarborough chapel into holiday accommodation

Steve Kirk has applied to convert the 122-year-old former Manor Road Chapel, in Scarborough, into holiday lets and to install solar panels and four roof lights.

Rooms would be created on the ground floor and the crypt and these would include a toilet and kitchen facilities and the spaces would be illuminated through the existing chapel openings.

The chapel sits within the Manor Road Cemetery and was constructed in 1902, 30 years after the opening of the cemetery. It was designed in 1901 by the eminent local architect Frank Tugwell, according to a council appraisal.

Tugwell was a prominent Scarborough architect responsible for the interiors of prestigious venues such as the Savoy Theatres in London and the Theatre Royal in York. He was also the designer of the Futurist Theatre on the Scarborough Seafront.

However, the proposed installation of solar panels has caused planners concerns about their impact on the conservation area.

A pre-application analysis by the council concluded that the proposed solar panels were “unlikely to be considered acceptable” due to their “incongruous and modern” appearance.

The application states that the inclusion of renewable energy in the building will allow it “to become somewhat autonomous”.

The proposal suggests that securing “zero-carbon electricity for the site, even partially, is one of the easiest first steps toward net zero” and would make the building more economical to run.

It concludes: “In terms of policy, we understand that the provision to provide renewable technology on the building for sustainability and reduce CO2 emissions would outweigh any perceived impacts of the conservation area.”

No objections to the proposal have been made by the council’s environmental health team of the housing standards manager.

The application concludes: “These holiday lets will offer an ideally characteristic location for visitors including the North Bay and Open Air Theatre.

“They are primarily designed to provide good quality habitable residential accommodation which can be used short term accommodation and much of the character [of the building] will be retained with a few amendments to ensure a longstanding and sustainable use of the building.”

North Yorkshire Council has not set a date for deciding on the application which is currently pending consideration with the planning authority.