Plan to demolish 19th Century Torquay villa for flats

Previous plans have been revised for several reasons including concerns over the loss of the original building

A 19th Century villa in Torquay could be demolished to build apartments.

Developers filed an application with Torbay Council for 14 flats on the site of the former Seabury Hotel in Manor Road.

Applicants 8 Tech Homes of Exeter said the development would provide the area with high quality and much-needed housing.

Previous plans have been revised for several reasons including concerns over the loss of the original building.

'Integral part'

An earlier version of the application, which would have incorporated the original building, was approved in March last year.

However, it was later rejected because the core building would have needed so much reconstruction.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the alternative scheme to demolish the existing hotel and construct a new building was withdrawn last October partly because of concerns from Historic England over the scale and mass of the replacement.

Now the proposal has been revised, with the number of apartments cut from 21 to 14, a reduction in height across the site and an amended design to reflect details of the existing villa.

A statement from Applicants 8 Tech Homes of Exeter said the demolition of the existing building was "justified and proportionate... to the significance of the conservation area".

They also said the replacement building would be better for the area than what could be achieved through extending the existing villa.

A comment posted on the council's website described the proposal as "pleasant enough" but added: "They cannot afford to keep losing these quality Victorian buildings, especially when they are an integral part of the conservation area".