Plans approved for accommodation for researchers at health and wellbeing facility in Mablethorpe

Members of East Lindsey District Council’s planning committee backed a section 73 application for the development of a faculty building housing laboratories, consultation spaces, lecture facilities and ancillary facilities at the Campus for Future Living accommodation block on land off Stanley Avenue, Mablethorpe.

The amended application, which was originally approved in 2022, includes a public facing café, seven bedroom accommodation block for short term stay for researchers as well as a play area, parking for 36 vehicles, mobility scooter parking or charging and new entrance road connecting to the existing roundabout.

The facility is owned by East Lindsey District Council, which works with the Acis Group which operates it, and provides support for people to access housing, education, skills and employment.

At a meeting on Thursday, January 8, councillors voted to approve the amended application to allow researchers to stay at the accommodation block, but suggested that the facility could be doing more to support homeless people in the area.

Coun Robert Watson (Green – Sutton on Sea ward) said: “I’m genuinely against this but I can’t find a material planning reason for this, but I would ask the officers if it conforms to meeting the high demand for single person accommodation along the coastal strip.

“We’ve currently got a scrutiny panel on at the moment with regards to homelessness.

“One of the main causes of homelessness is the lack of available accommodation.

“I look at the accommodation block and I think, ‘that’s great – that could be used for something else other than this commercial change of use’ – when there’s, by all accounts, a massive block next door to it with very little in it.”

Coun Terry Taylor (Conservative – Halton Holegate) said: “I’ve had a need to visit it recently and my thoughts on it are that I agree with Coun Watson.

“It does seem underused, to me. I would hope that this change to the application to remove this would possibly make it a little bit more usable.”

The district council said the conditions on the application specifically related to providing accommodation for people working at the facility and did not include plans for the accommodation block to be used for other means.