Huge former hotel in Margate to be converted into council flats
The old Bicken Hall site was bought for £1.6M by Thanet District Council in 2023
A huge former hotel in an area where “HMOs predominate” is set for a multi-million-pound overhaul into council homes.
The old Bicken Hall site on Edgar Road in Cliftonville, Margate, is thought to date back to the late 19th century.
Since closing, the property has not only been used as a women’s refuge, but it housed Thanet District Council’s (TDC) rough sleeper intervention, support and empowerment (RISE) project.
TDC bought the property in 2023 for £1.6 million using funding from the Live Margate programme – a £23.1m project aimed at purchasing buildings and converting them into homes.
At the time, a report to TDC’s cabinet said the conversion “would result in a minimum of 14 flats, potentially all two-bedroom” subject to planning permission.
However, the application, approved by TDC’s planning committee this week, was for six two-bed flats and four three-bed flats.
The properties are to be council homes, and the RISE project is set to move to a council-owned building in Grosvenor Place, Margate.
Before being purchased by the council, the property was a huge HMO with “approximately 20 en-suite rooms”, according to TDC.
There has been a “no one-bedroom” planning policy in place in Cliftonville since 2006, intended to limit the amount of large Victorian properties being purchased cheaply and then converted into multiple small flats.
Planning documents for the conversion argue “the proposed development will bring an important historic building that makes a positive contribution to the value of the conservation area into a viable long-term use, enabling its restoration and repair, and significantly enhancing the value of the asset and its contribution to the Conservation Area.
“Furthermore, the proposed scheme provides seriously needed housing to meet local needs, and represents a high-quality proposal which can set a strong precedent for similar schemes in the area where low-quality conversions and HMOs predominate.”
TDC’s planning committee voted to approve the conversion, with planning officers now set to work out the final details.
When the use of council money for the conversion was before TDC’s cabinet earlier in the year, the authority said it expects the works to cost £2,788,274.