A PROPOSAL to use a former backpacker’s hostel in the centre of a tourist town as bedsits is recommended for approval.

The decision will have to be taken by a county council planning committee after local councillors objected to using the grade-II star listed building as a house of multiple occupation, or HMO, as they said it wouldn’t be “in keeping with the historical nature of the town” and they would prefer tourist accommodation.

A local resident also said they didn’t want to see Chepstow “overrun” with HMOs and urged no decision be made until an assessment of the percentage of buildings used as HMOs in a “thriving tourist town” had been carried out.

Monmouthshire County Council’s planning department, which described the resident’s comment as neutral and neither for or against the application, has said it doesn’t have a specific policy on HMOs, or to prioritise tourism accommodation, and residential uses are “generally supported” in the town centre.

The application, submitted by Diego Spahiu, for Greenman Backpackers, in Beaufort Square in the Chepstow conservation area is going before the county council’s Tuesday, February 10 planning committee, due to the objection from Chepstow Town Council, with a recommendation for approval.

The building is listed due its medieval vaulted hall and Regency frontage, considered “the best of its kind in the town”, and its group value with other nearby buildings.

No alterations or building works to the exterior of the building are planned with only minor internal alterations so it can provide nine bedrooms for up to 15 people.

Planning officer David Wong says in his report for the committee: “The proposed HMO will provide shared accommodation that meets the growing local demand for flexible and affordable housing.”

Monmouthshire County Council’s planning committee meets at County Hall in Usk on Tuesday, February 10 at 2pm. The meeting has been postponed and rearranged from Tuesday, February 3.