Residents in a UK town have hit out at plans to turn a popular seaside hotel into a dozen flats for holidaymakers, describing it as “inappropriate” and an example of “overdevelopment”. Langley Hotel in Whitby was put on the market for £850,000 in 2023 and after being scooped up by a developer, planning permission was granted for its conversion into a block of holiday flats. Approval for the project was given in spite of a number of objections from locals, with the town’s civic society warning the council that it was agreeing to an “overdevelopment of the site [creating] noise nuisance and parking issues”.
Alongside the planning application, the developer submitted documents demonstrating that “if the hotel were to continue to be used by the new proprietor under its current use, [it] would be a loss-making venture”. The conversion from a hotel to tourist accommodation didn’t represent a major change in use, the council concluded, but the permanent loss of the beloved local business would also mean “excessive noise and disturbance from the increase in occupants [and] parking issues”, Whitby locals said.
Plans to turn it from a six-bed hotel into 12 holiday lets would update and modernise the property, which is badly in need of a roof replacement, the developer said, with each room including “an en-suite, a seating area and [a] tea point”.
“The works will help to preserve the property on this important and impressive street and the internal refurbishment will enhance the property and ensure that it appeals to holidaymakers to provide longevity to secure the building’s future,” they added.
The Langley, which first opened as a boarding house in 1854, has a five-star rating on TripAdvisor, with recent visitors dubbing it “the best B&B in Whitby”. “There will never be another Langley,” one person wrote. “Whatever [the current owners] do in the future, [I] hope it works out for you both.”
“Everyone gets a warm welcome here and nothing it seems is too much trouble for the hosts,” another guest said. “This is the place we go to that relaxes us the moment we set foot through the door, a real home from home.”
One resident also wrote to the council to suggest that the site should be repurposed as “affordable housing” rather than capitalising on the town’s growing popularity with tourists.
Whitby, a beautiful slice of the Yorkshire coast with pretty cobbled streets and links to literary legends including Bram Stoker’s Dracula, was ranked among the UK’s most overcrowded tourist spots by HeyDiscount last year.
The study found that the small town, which only has a population of 12,500, had over 1,800 holiday lets, with house prices also standing at around £263,697 – significantly higher than the regional average.
