Sheringham art deco hotel approved by North Norfolk council

Developers have been given permission to create the 37-suite ‘apartment hotel’ next to Sheringham's Reef leisure centre by North Norfolk District Council (NNDC).   

Apartment hotels offer more space than a traditional room, with cooking facilities and living room areas, and are often used for more extended periods than a typical hotel room. 

The Reef Leisure Centre (Image: Stuart Anderson) (Image: Stuart Anderson)

The site would also provide limited on-site facilities for guests, with a space for a bar and laundrette on the ground floor. 

This is the second time the plans have been heard by NNC’s planning committee, with the application pushed back by a meeting in March. 

Addressing the committee on Thursday, Sheringham councillor Liz Withington said there was a concern in the community that the development, which will create three part-time jobs, would do little to help the local economy.

Liz Withington (Image: Archant)

“Sheringham only has six hectares of employment land I’ve identified, so every scrap of that matters greatly. [This] will be a missed opportunity for the town," she said.

“There is a feeling that this, as art deco, is actually out of character with the town because the majority of the town is Edwardian or end of Victorian. It certainly doesn’t marry up with the spacious aspect golf club opposite.” 

Stody ward councillor Andrew Brown supported the application but echoed Ms Withington's concerns.

He said: "It’s disappointing this site couldn’t be developed for employment or for social housing.

“I don’t think it is the best design, it is a faux art deco design, not using particularly local materials.

“Although I will support this, I will only be applauding it with one hand, I’m afraid.”  

The application was approved 11 votes for, one against and one abstention.