A FORMER hotel which was first built in the 20th century as an infant school is set to be partially redeveloped into a four bedroom home if planning permission is approved.

The former Grove Court Hotel in Cleator was originally built as a Roman Catholic Infant School in the early 20th century.

An application has been submitted to Copeland Borough Council with plans to redevelop a building on the site into a two-storey dwelling.

Day Cummins Limited are handling the application on behalf of applicant Colin Benn.

Their proposal is to demolish the main hotel building allowing the site to be redeveloped but retaining the bungalows. The two storey annex building will then be converted into a single dwelling.

In their design and access statement, the applicant said that the ground floor will remain largely unchained with existing bedrooms also remaining the same.

Upstairs bedrooms will be knocked through to create larger, more open plan rooms, becoming the main living accommodation with kitchen, dining room and living room.

The applicant believes it is a positive step forward.

They said: "The redundant building will continue to deteriorate and after 2 years of marketing no sale as been achieved. The proposed conversion to form a dwelling will have a positive impact on the site and the area and on a Brownfield site."

It was noted that it is "good development land" as the site is well related to its environment with good views.

The building was altered internally in the late 1950s and early 1960s to suit its most recent use as a hotel.

Grove Court Hotel suffered a fire in the kitchen in August 2019 with extensive smoke damage and it ceased trading.

It was advertised for sale before the fire in October 2018, remaining on the market until November 2020. An offer was progressing but fell through and the hotel failed to sell.

An ecological assessment was carried out in the planning process, it said: "Grove Court Hotel provides low quality foraging and commuting habitats for bats in the local area but the building contains several potential roosting features and has been assessed as having moderate potential to support roosting bats.

"Due to the potential presence of breeding birds within the building at the time of development, it is recommended that the works take place outside of the breeding bird season and should not be undertaken from March to August inclusive."

The public have a right to view and comment on all planning applications submitted for their area. All planning applications can be viewed through the Copeland Borough Council planning portal.