Empty building on Brighton seafront to become 19-person HMO

Brighton and Hove City Council has given the green light to proposals to redevelop 46-48 King’s Road, creating a 16-bedroom HMO while adding an extra storey.

The prominent seafront property, which sits within the Old Town Conservation Area, comprises a ground-floor commercial unit and vacant upper floors that were formerly used as visitor accommodation.

Council planning officers said the building is in a poor state of repair and has been empty for around 18 months.

Another storey will be added to the building to accommodate some of the 16 bedrooms (Image: Wilbury Planning Ltd)

Under the approved scheme, the commercial unit will remain at ground-floor level, although part of the space will be converted into a wider entrance serving the residential accommodation above.

The redevelopment will also include the construction of an additional storey and extensive refurbishment works.

The application, reference BH2026/01258, was submitted on May 21 and approved on October 1.

While the building originally operated as a hotel, permission was granted in 1995 for student accommodation and summer tourist self-catering lettings.

More recently it has also been used as a hostel and short-term visitor accommodation.

46-48 Kings Road is the shortest building in this section of the streetscape (Image: Google)

Plans were revised during the application process, with developers removing a second proposed additional storey and reducing the number of bedrooms.

The approved scheme will accommodate a maximum of 19 residents, despite occupancy for 27 people originally being proposed.

A planning condition restricts occupation of the HMO to no more than 19 people.

The council found the development complied with its HMO policies, noting that only one of the 119 properties within a 50-metre radius was already in HMO use.

This equated to 0.8 per cent of nearby properties, well below the council’s policy threshold.

An old image from when the building was used as a backpacker’s hostel (Image: Wilbury Planning Ltd)

Three objections were lodged against the scheme, raising concerns including overdevelopment, the loss of hotel accommodation, the quality of the design, impacts on neighbouring properties and a lack of cycle parking.

One letter of support highlighted the benefits of bringing a vacant building back into use.

Officers concluded that the redevelopment would preserve the character of the conservation area, provide an acceptable standard of accommodation for future residents and return a deteriorating seafront building to active use.