Plans to transform a boarded-up hotel into six apartments and an office have hit a snag after a town council objected to the bid.
The Kings Head Hotel in Bungay closed down in 2012 and has remained vacant since.
It is now owned by V Cooke LTD, a waste collection company based in Beccles, which hopes to give the building a new lease of life.
The company's application to East Suffolk Council is to turn the building into six apartments and convert The Odd Fellows Hall behind the hotel into two three-bedroom homes.
The Old Fellows Hall at the back of the King's Head Hotel (Image: James Bass)
But Bungay Town Council has now officially objected to the proposal as it claims the building as a hotel would be an "asset" for tourism in the town.
It says any application to change the use of the building from a hotel will only be supported if a number of criteria are met.
The council says it will only support applications which "retains an active frontage at ground floor level for community use or visitor attractions such as a café, restaurant, shop, or public exhibition".
Three Tuns Hotel and The Kings Head in the 1960's (Image: Archant Library)
The town council added that Bungay is "desperately in need of tourist accommodation" and argue that "no effort has been taken to market the hotel" by the owners.
In addition, it voiced concerns about the "safety of pedestrians due to the amount of traffic crossing the busy pavement route on St Marys".
The comment also notes "concerns about the safety of motorists pulling out onto St Marys due to the poor visibility splay and the speed of traffic on St Mary’s one-way
system".
The King's Head Hotel in Bungay taken in 2001 by Bill Darnell (Image: Bill Darnell)
In February 2016 it was announced that the building was bought by the Bungay Castle Trust and was going to be turned into a museum and heritage centre.
READ MORE: New lease of life for town centre hotel boarded up for more than a decade
Plans for the site were underway as the Kings Head was acquired for the town through a £500,000 legacy from the late Bungay resident Harry Smith.
When the building was sold it is not known publically what happened with Mr Smith's donation.
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