The owners of a former Premier Inn were offering rooms for people to live in

Transcript

00:00It's the hotel chain famous for guaranteeing a good night's sleep, usually attracting business

00:05clients or those looking for budget accommodation. But what about living in a premier inn permanently?

00:12Converted studio apartments with a minimum rental term of 12 months have been advertised

00:16at one of the chain's former sites in Gravesend. Progression Borough Council is looking into

00:21the legality of this.

00:24Whitbread sold the hotel to a private developer last November. Since then, older design and

00:29build has lodged a planning application to extend the building by 16 rooms. Typically,

00:35planning permission is required to convert a hotel into residential lettings.

00:39In planning documents, the applicant states that the building's current use is still a

00:44hotel. It holds a license appropriate for that business and explicitly asserts that

00:49the site is not being used for private dwellings.

00:52However, late last year, rooms were advertised for rent without any evidence of a change

00:57of use. Documents state that these rooms would be ready for occupancy before the end

01:02of January. Gravesend Borough Council has now confirmed that it is looking into a potential

01:07breach of planning regulations at the site.

01:11The developer claims it's originally intended for the site to remain a hotel, but that the

01:15previous owner had cancelled all bookings over Christmas.

01:19Regarding the advertisements, they have now admitted that this was slightly premature

01:23and the rooms weren't available. They said it was a form of advanced marketing to gauge

01:28demand.

01:29And on the license to rent out rooms, the developer says that their planning consultant

01:33had given them bad advice. They now say they understand they need a HMO license for this

01:39building and they're in active discussions with the council.

01:42If permission is granted, they say the rooms will provide much-needed affordable housing

01:48for the local community. Gabriel Morris, in Gravesend.