Former Ramsey pub to be converted to apartments

Owners Heron and Brearley applied to change the use of the Britannia in Ramsey

A pub which called last orders a decade ago in the north of the island is set to be converted into apartments after planners backed the change.

Heron and Brearley, owners of the Britannia Hotel on Waterloo Road in Ramsey, applied to amend its use after two previous applications to demolish all or parts of the building were refused.

The planning committee approved the latest proposals, which would retain the original structure built in 1847 but see later extensions knocked down and replaced.

Under the plans, nine one-bedroom apartments and one two-bedroom apartment would be created the building situated in the Ramsey Conservation Area.

Final arrangements for the project are now subject to legal agreements which will see the owners pay the Manx government £14,309 as the project does not include affordable housing and £5784 to Ramsey Commissioners due to a shortfall in open space requirements.

'Sympathetic'

Planners had heard that a report by the Manx Bat Group found no evidence of the species in the structure, and a flood risk assessment confirmed the floor level would be about 2ft (60cm) above the highest recorded tidal flood in that area.

Defence systems would also provide protection for the properties, the company said.

A neighbouring property owner expressed concerns about the potential number of wheelie bins and an increase in parking needs, but the firm confirmed communal bins were included in the site's footprint.

Recommending the plans be approved, the planning officer's report highlighted the property was within a "public transport corridor" and there were about seven pubs within a 0.25-mile (0.4km) radius of the site.

Approving the development, members of the committee said the "sympathetic" treatment of the building was a "great way of bringing a beautiful building back into use".