Plans to turn former office into flats and salon

A former office in St Peter Port will be turned into seven flats and a beauty salon, if a planning application is approved.

The owner, MK Homes Ltd, is seeking permission to change the use of Lancaster Court on Forest Lane, which until 31 December 2024 was the Guernsey office of the Islands Insurance group.

In application documents posted online, they said that subsequent efforts to market the building as an office, which had been ongoing for more than 12 months, had proved unsuccessful.

Subject to planning permission, three one-bedroom flats - one of which will be "fully disabled compliant" - and four two-bedroom flats will be built on the site, with a salon created on the ground floor.

According to the application, the property is not a protected building, but it is situated "within the setting of protected buildings and within a conservation area".

It also said the existing building would be retained in its current form and the only external changes would be the introduction of some dormer windows.

"We are taking an underutilised building and providing much needed residential uses in the time of a housing need," the application said.

Anybody who wished to comment on the application has until 13 April to make representations to Guernsey's planning service.

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