Empty Georgian office building being converted into Wolverhampton guesthouse given extension green light
An empty Georgian office building in Wolverhampton city centre which is being converted into a guest house has been given the go-ahead to build a single-storey rear extension to provide additional ensuite accommodation.
The former accountants in Bond Street, next to the Cosmo Bonsor public house, was granted approval for the initial conversion in February 2021.
Applicant Jaswant Singh, of Wolverhampton-based management and business consultants Greytona Ltd, said the new guest house is speciifically intended for short-stay residents and will only take bookings from online search engines such as Booking.com, Airbnb, Expedia and Hotels.com.
In a management plan to the city council he said: “The accommodation will not be for long-term permanent personal residence. It will be managed by the owner’s internal management team who have over 30 years experience of managing property including hotels/guest houses.
“Unauthorised parties or large group gatherings will not be allowed. We already ban them as part of our house rules. The on-site manager, who will occupy one of the studio apartments, will also recognise any breach of rules.
“If a guest has no reviews and tries to book the entire guest house they will be barred from doing so. A guest with positive reviews, however, will be able to book the accommodation, but with limitations on the number of guests in an apartment.
“We will ensure that guests will only be permitted to book a maximum of two apartments under their name,” added Mr Singh, who will also operate as senior manager of the premises.
The three-storey building will consist of a total of eight suites. Mr Singh said guests would be restricted to professional people, with a maximum of two people in each of the one-bedroom apartments and one person in each studio. No homeless people will be admitted.
All rooms will have access to broadband, and staff located off-site will provide cleaning and laundry services on a daily basis.
No external alterations have been made to the building except for the removal of a rear fire escape staircase. A number of other buildings in the cobbled street have also been converted into residential accommodation in recent years.
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