Solent Forts: Permission sought to use Spitbank Fort as a home because a hotel is 'no longer viable'
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Clarenco LLP submitted the application ahead of the August expiry of a three-year permission granted by Portsmouth City Council as it continues to try and find a buyer for the fort.
Spitbank has been owned by the company, also known as Solent Forts, since it was bought for £1m in 2009 and converted from a museum into a hotel. During the pandemic, the fort was put up for sale, along with No Man’s Fort and Horse Sand Fort, for a combined for £9m with temporary planning permission for use as a residential dwelling. Spitbank was marketed again earlier this year for £3m and listed as a nine-bed home and Clarenco is now seeking to renew that permission.
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Hide Ad‘Whilst the space has provided for a successful operation over the years hosting numerous unique events, the continued running costs and complexities associated with its current operation has seen the applicant seek an alternative, more viable use of the fort,’ a letter submitted with its application says.
It added that work carried out immediately after the fort was bought means it can be used as a home without any renovation, meeting the requirements of its scheduled monument status.
‘The existing use is not protected and a residential use on the site has been previously acceptable, with permission recent granted in 2020 but never implemented,’ the letter adds. ‘The scheme will allow for a unique luxury residential dwelling and will contribute towards meeting the need for housing in Portsmouth.’
Construction of the fort, which is the smallest of the three, took 11 years and was finished in 1878 and was in use as a fort until 1956 when the coastal artillery was abolished. In 1982 it was sold and turned into a museum which was open to the public until the 2009 sale.
Neighbouring No Man's Fort is also still on sale and also needs new planning permission to be used as a home.