Old Portsmouth hotel and former pizzeria to be converted into flats
Plans to convert a long-standing Old Portsmouth hotel and former pizzeria into eight apartments have been approved.
The scheme concerns The Duke of Buckingham Hotel, located at 119 High Street, within the Old Portsmouth Conservation Area.
The plans seek to convert the existing hotel and restaurant into eight apartments, including rear extensions at ground, first and second-floor levels, along with refuse and cycle storage.
The three-and-a-half-storey building previously operated as a pub and, more recently, as the former location of Florio’s D’Italia pizzeria. The upper floors currently host a 13-room hotel.
Under the plans, the building will be reconfigured to provide two one-bedroom and six two-bedroom apartments, spread across three floors. The proposals also include a recessed second-floor mansard extension to the rear of the property.
Speaking to the committee, a local resident raised concerns about refuse and parking, adding the proposals would make “The road busier, noisier, less pleasant and more damaged”.
A spokesperson for the Friends of Old Portsmouth Association said the development would be “severely detrimental” to Highbury Street – a cobbled street to the east of the site.
They added the extensions would reduce light to neighbouring properties, describing them as “overdominant”.
Speaking as a deputy, Councillor Chris Atwell said the proposal would impact the view and outlook of neighbours.
He added there is no off-street parking available and that the resident parking zone is operating at 105 per cent capacity.
He said there’s “no credibility” in arguments that the proposal would open up parking spaces – appealing to his local knowledge of the area.
Planning agent Jake Russell said the plans provide a “much needed opportunity” to bring the vacant building back into use.
He added the extensions would be hidden from the High Street, which is the “most prominent view point in the conservation area”.
He argued that the proposal would reduce traffic movements, as previous uses as a restaurant and hotel generated regular deliveries.
He reminded the chamber that the council is behind on its housing targets, which tilts the decision-making balance in favour of development – meaning there must be compelling planning reasons to justify refusal.
The application was approved five votes to one.