PLANS have been put forward to turn a former hair salon into a one-bedroom home in Keswick.
The proposal for the semi-detached, single-storey stone property known as 'Headquarters', located at the junction of Blencathra Street and Myers Street, aims to address the local housing needs in the area.
It was put forward to the Lake District National Park Planning Authority by Hough Tullett on May 21.
Evidence suggests the property was constructed around 1862 and was used originally as an ancillary building associated with a builder's yard.
The property has primarily been used for commercial purposes.
It was converted from two garages and a storage building to an office and toilet in 1981.
Later, it was purchased by the present applicant's parents in 1985 and developed into a hair salon.
Shifting demographics eventually brought a closure to the business in 2016.
Another brief interval of use came in 2019 when the premises were leased to a Thai massage parlour, however, the pandemic saw this venture cease by 2020.
Between September 2021 and April 2022, the applicant remodelled the property as residential accommodation, hoping to rent it out to holidaymakers.
However, planning permissions were not granted.
The design and access statement reads: "As evidenced above the previous owner and the applicant have given best endeavours over many years to maintain (and latterly source) a commercial use for the property with diminishing success due to size and location therefore it would appear reasonable to assume the future of the site as a place of ‘employment’ is no longer viable.
"On the above basis and given that the proposal will present a relativity unchanged visual aspect within the local townscape a change of use to local needs housing would be the most viable use for the building at the current time," it reads.
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