A CONTROVERSIAL planning application to transform the Promenade Hotel in to self-catering holiday flats with owner’s accommodation has been withdrawn by the owners.

The former Minehead hotel specialised in holidays for disabled people and closed last September.

Plans were submitted to West Somerset Council in December by Justin and Caron Taylor, of Burnham-on-Sea, who purchased the property.

The application received criticism from residents in Minehead who said the town would suffer with the loss of a specialist hotel.

Chris Veale, agent for Mr and Mrs Taylor, submitted the withdrawal last Friday (February 14).

It comes just weeks after Mrs Taylor wrote to the council defending their plans.

She had stated: “The former Promenade Hotel lost over £100,000 a year in recent years and was already closed down by Livability and not trading when we collected the keys on September 30.

“The Promenade Hotel has gone and will not return; that decision was not ours to make.

“Livability have placed us under a contractual liability NOT to use it as a hotel with punitive financial consequences for us if we do.

“We did not therefore buy a hotel or any type of going concern business.

“The promenade is now in part a home for our young family and we applied to the council last year to use part of it for holiday apartments to earn a living.

“We have wanted to live here for many years.

“We are so happy to be here and our children love their new school and the beautiful beaches and parks nearby.”

Mr Veale said his clients did not wish to talk about why they had decided to withdraw their application.

Minehead Conservation Society objected to the planning application and said the hotel had been let down.

Chairman Sally Bainbridge said: “Many of the comments submitted in the application were inflammatory.

“I’m very pleased that the application has been withdrawn.”