Former Chepstow Hostel to be Converted into House of Multiple Occupation

A FORMER hostel can be used as a house of multiple occupation despite a loss of tourism accommodation in a popular town. 
Chepstow Town Council objected to the change of use plan for the former Greenman Backpackers, in Beaufort Square, as it said it would prefer to see the building used for tourist accommodation and claimed a house of multiple occupation, or HMO, isn’t “in keeping with the historical nature of the town”. 
The grade-ll star listed building has a medieval vaulted hall and was previously the British Legion before it became the backpacker’s hostel in 2011. The front of the building in the central shopping area is considered the best Regency frontage in Chepstow and will remain in use as a solicitor’s office. 
At Monmouthshire County Council’s planning committee independent councillor Emma Bryn questioned the loss of tourist accommodation while the council’s local development plan, which must be examined by an independent inspector this year before it can come into use, has earmarked a greenfield site on the edge of Chepstow for a hotel. 
The Wyesham councillor said: “Has it been assessed if it’s a shortage of beds or a particular type of accommodation? For us to be proposing to build a hotel on a green belt site and then actually proposing the withdrawal of tourist accommodation closer to the heart of Chepstow, that’s my only concern about this development really.” 
Cllr Bryn also suggested the council should develop its own policy for HMOs “before there are problems rather than in a reactive manner.” 
The hostel, that closed two years ago with the owners stating demand had failed to recover following the Covid pandemic, had capacity for 35 guest while the application, by Diego Spahiu, is to use nine bedrooms to accommodate up to 15 people. 
Andrew Jones, the council’s head of planning, said it isn’t considered there is a need for a policy on HMOs as there are only a small number in Monmouthshire and there isn’t the “evidence base” to put one in place.  
He also said there is a mix of tourism accommodation in Chepstow and the former backpacker’s hostel was a “different offering” and “much smaller” than the hotel proposed in the replacement local development plan. 
St Arvan’s Conservative councillor Ann Webb welcomed the application and said: “There are hotels nearby and it’s great it will be occupied and not left vacant any longer we’ve got enough empty buildings in Chepstow as it is.” 
Labour member for Magor John Crook said following the site visit he was struck by the “amazing quality” while Devauden Conservative Rachel Buckler asked if the committee wasn’t “just putting applications through by default” without an HMO policy.
Planning officer Phil Thomas said the committee needed to consider land use and said a HMO would provide “flexible and affordable housing” and he said a lack of objections “probably speaks volumes about how this application has been received by local businesses and residents.” 
Listed building consent will also be required, though there will only be minor internal alterations to the building, and a separate planning application has been made to restore a two-storey annex to one dwelling. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​