A SCHEME to convert an acclaimed hotel into flats has been rejected by Bournemouth council.

Owner Andrew Gosling had sought to convert the Cliff House Hotel in Belle Vue Road, Southbourne, to 10 one to three bedroom flats, claiming the business is unviable.

However council planning officers say Mr Gosling failed to justify the loss of a tourism facility in the area and did not appear to have explored all options to keep the award-winning hotel open.

A report by planning officer Sophie Edwards states: "The viability statement briefly considers holiday lets as an alternative form of accommodation for the Cliff House site, but provides no viability analysis other than a set of assumptions around potential demand and supply.

"We note from the accounts provided, that the staffing costs are unusually high and may have contributed to the poor viability of the current business model.

"Options around owner/occupation or removal of the restaurant portion of the business do not appear to have been considered."

The council says the building retains "original Victorian features" and is "renovated to a high standard".

"We are advised that the property has been on the market prior to the hotel closing," the report states.

"We understand that the hotel closed at the end of the summer in 2017.

There were 12 letters of objection to the proposal.

The hotel has been in the collection of French firm Hôtels de Charme et de Caractère, and is currently advertised on its website as closed "for an extended winter period".

It has won several tourism awards, including the 2016 Bournemouth Tourism Award for best small hotel.

Mr Gosling's application stated: "Due to the unviability of the existing Cliff House Hotel, together with the many years of marketing, it is extremely unlikely that the site will be used for tourism again."

The building was constructed in the 1880s as the Cliff House Preparatory School for Boys, and has since served as a private home and as the Cliff House Holiday and Conference Centre.

It was refurbished to form the current Cliff House 'boutique' hotel in 2014.