Planning applications for developments on the bus station and depot sites are set lodged with Copeland Council in the coming days, with councillors due to take a decision in the coming weeks.
Carlisle-based firm North Associates is developing the scheme, on behalf of landowners Britain’s Energy Coast.
A seven-storey hotel – including 144 rooms and a bar/restaurant – is earmarked for the empty former bus depot site next to Tesco.
Also proposed is the conversion of the derelict former bus station opposite into a five-storey block of 47 apartments.
The hotel proposed is slightly higher than its neighbouring buildings, Pears House and Blencathra House. Including a shop and gym on site, its bar/restaurant would open out on to the harbour. Parking for hotel guests would be in a soon-to-be-converted 203-space site, between the harbourside and Tesco, for which BEC has already received planning permission. Talks would take place between North, BEC and potential hoteliers if planning permission was granted.
The apartment block would feature a “modern take on the Georgian architecture of the bus station and the town,” says North. With a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments, there will be 35 car parking spaces on site with priority given to those in the two-bed units. A communal garden is also included. If planning permission is given, BEC has the option to develop the site itself, or work with or sell to a specialist developer.
Outline permission is being sought by North, and specific designs – including feedback from a public consultation – would be made at the full application stage.
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