Brading Guest House To Become Family Home As Rising Costs Hit Hospitality Sector

A ten-room bed and breakfast property in an historic Isle of Wight town will be converted into a large family home amid ‘higher energy costs’ and a rising cost of living.

County Hall has given Ms K. Di Nallo, described as a prospective buyer in a Planning Statement, permission for a change of use of Oaklands House on Brading’s Morton Road to residential accommodation.

The hotel is said to be ‘no longer viable’ in the long-term, with ‘all savings’ used to cover revenue costs, according to the Planning Statement from the applicant’s agent, Phil Salmon Planning:

“The hotel has unfortunately, along with all hospitality businesses, experienced higher energy costs, rises in the cost of living, and the drop in government help post-Covid.

“The current owners of the guest house are in a position where they wish to move on from the former hospitality business, given it is no longer viable and maintenance liabilities mounting.

“The applicants are prospective buyers of the property who wish to use it as their home and not operate a guest house.”

A decision report from the Isle of Wight Council on proposal 25/01339/FUL said:

“Oaklands House has not operated as a business consistently since Covid. The short period it opened in 2022 generated little or no interest for tourists.

“Marketing the business and property as a guest house at the current time is extremely unlikely to generate any interest.

"Moreover, banks and lending organisations are not lending to investors in the hotel or holiday accommodation sector and certainly not to guest houses or B&Bs.

“Having regard for the site being in predominantly a residential area, the residential use would conform with the prevailing character and as such would be acceptable.”