A BOARDED up former hotel is set to be transformed… into a 18 bedroom house of multiple occupancy.

The former Anchor Hotel, in Westcliff, will join a number of other establishments which have unveiled bids to be converted.

Change of use plans have been made to Southend Council for the hotel, which was also previously known as the Branch Hotel.

If approved the building, in Cobham Road, would be converted to provide 18 bedrooms.

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Of those 11 would have ensuites with the building also having three shared bathrooms, two shared kitchens and dining and living areas.

The proposals come amid a number of plans to convert redundant Southend hotels into flats and HMOs.

Earlier this year the former Bideford House Hotel in Wilson Road submitted a conversion bid.

In January, the owners of one of Southend’s popular guest houses, the Gleneagles Hotel, in Clifftown Parade, were given the green light to convert the grade II listed building into seven flats.

And construction is progressing at the Grand in Leigh’s Broadway. Dating back to 1899, the former landmark hotel is being transformed into 18 apartments, a basement restaurant, spa and shop.

Despite these closures, Southend’s hotel business is booming and on the up, according to the Seven Hotel manager Jonathan Peters.

“Us, the Park Inn, the Roslin Hotel, and all the boarding houses are doing incredibly well with more than 93 per cent occupancy at the moment in Southend,” he said.

“There are never enough hotels for demand in Southend, and those that are well-managed are doing fantastically.”

For the Branch hotel plans to be accepted, the owners must prove the specifications meet the council’s stringent legal standards.

The planning document said: “The proposed development will optimise the use of the site by creating a good environment for the future tenants who will beneficiate from spacious combined areas and utility space.

“The development also offers outdoor amenity space, such as garden space, all to improve the future tenants quality of living. All rooms respect the minimum standard requirements all to create a comfortable environment for the occupants to live in.”

Southend Council will have the final say.